


Still Learning

by 50sNettle



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Big Brother Gabriel, Castiel & Meg Masters Friendship, Castiel Has A Video Blog, Castiel Has No Chill, Castiel Is So Done, Castiel and Dean Winchester Need to Use Their Words, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Roommates, Castiel-centric, Dean is a Little Shit, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, F/M, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-18 12:31:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 35,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4706117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50sNettle/pseuds/50sNettle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel needs a new roommate and so big brother Gabriel takes it upon himself to find him one. Except Dean Winchester is the roommate from Castiel's worst nightmares, and this can't ever work out, can it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro To Vlogging

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn’t sure whether or not to post this because it was just some drabble I wrote one day after watching too much "Carmilla", but then one chapter became two and two became five and so on, and, since this took over my entire summer holiday, I decided to go for it and post it! Hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Quick warning: I know next to nothing about the American college/university system. I tried to go off what little I do know from Internet research and also my assumptions based on the UK system, so I apologise if any of the education/class stuff is wrong.
> 
> DISCLAIMER. I own nothing.

"Hey, Clarence?" Meg said suddenly, interrupting the silence that had fallen over the room in the past couple of minutes. "You know that this whole vlogging thing requires you to actually _say_ something, right?"

Castiel leaned further back in his chair, letting his reading glasses slide off his nose and tumble onto the desk in front of him with a quiet thud. "What exactly should I say, then?"

His best friend let out a light snort, rolling her eyes as she perched on the unowned bed that sat opposite to his. "How should I know? This is _your_ project. I'm just providing you with the right equipment." She nodded towards the camera balanced on Castiel's desk, resting on top of at least seven different books.

"You know much more about technology and the Internet than I do."

She smirked. "And you call yourself a business student, Clarence."

"Not that I really have any right to. We all know I'm useless when it comes to this sort of thing."

"It's the one certain fact in my life to which I cling on, Cassie." Gabriel, his older brother by two years, crammed another chunk of sandwich into his mouth, showering crumbs all over his brother's duvet. It was the very same sandwich that Castiel had been saving for dinner that night, no less. But, then again, he really should have known better than to leave it on the top shelf in the refrigerator where Gabriel could easily find it.

"And, besides," Meg continued, as if the elder Novak sibling hadn't spoke. "Just because I know how to work a video camera doesn't mean that I know the ins and outs of vlogging. Didn't you get a project brief?"

"Yes." Castiel rescued it from the pile of papers on his desk and passed it to her; she skimmed it in under three seconds.

" _Sell Life On Campus_. There you go. That's where you start."

"I don't know how or where to even begin."

"Just introduce yourself and see where it goes, Clarence. It's not as if we can't re-shoot anything later on."

"Alright." Castiel turned back to face his desk, staring directly at the blinking red light on the front of the camera that indicated it was recording, trying not to sound self-conscious as he felt his best friend and older brother watching him. "Hello there, my name is Castiel Novak, but just call me Castiel if you ever meet me in public, which is highly likely if you attend the university here in Lawrence, but otherwise, it would probably be extremely rare for us to ever come face to face, unless we were to meet on the sidewalk or something -"

"Ugh, _boring_!" Gabriel cut off his brother's rambling with a loud, over-exaggerated sigh. Castiel turned to glare at the source of the interruption; just when he was beginning to get into his stride too...

"Do you have something to contribute, Gabriel?"

"Well, for starters, Cassie, nobody is going to be sold by videos of you sitting in your dorm room all the time. Seriously, you only ever seem to leave the building when you have a class, need to walk the two blocks to the library, or we drag you out to dinner because your little refrigerator and cupboards are empty."

"Yes. And who's fault is _that_?" Castiel looked reproachfully at the half-eaten sandwich sitting on the plate in his brother's lap.

"Never mind that, Cassie. The point is, nobody is going to be sold by your current set-up. It has to be more interesting than...well, than this."

"I know I'm going to regret asking, Gabriel, but what do you suggest?"

"You need something remarkable, Cassie. Something special, unique, you know what I mean?"

"Why do I feel like I'm suddenly watching an episode of _America's Next Top Model_?" Meg muttered from her side of the room, loud enough for Gabriel to hear her.

"You know I could win that show without breaking a sweat," the elder Novak replied with a wink, before returning to the issue of Castiel and his feeble attempts at vlogging about student life. "But, yeah, Cassie. Remarkable. Something like..." He glanced around his brother's dorm room, as if he would be able to find something printed across the beige paint, wrinkling his nose at the empty walls and simple wooden furniture. "Sheesh, little bro, even your room is dull enough to send anyone to sleep. It's all so... _organised_." He shuddered at the word. "No wonder your little vlog is so tedious."

"Well, _I_ like it," Castiel replied, sounding rather indignant. The room was small enough already without taking up space by being unnecessarily untidy, and he personally found the plain uncluttered walls therapeutic. Nothing like Gabriel's room at all. He'd been forced to spend a night there a few weeks ago when there had been a leak in his ceiling, and it was one of the worst experiences of his life to date. Gabriel's room looked like a bomb had exploded inside it, showering clothes and papers and leftover plates of food in its wake. Castiel thanked his few lucky stars that he hadn't been assigned to share his brother's dorm room permanently and that Balthazar had gotten that responsibility; he was pretty sure that he would have slowly descended into insanity living amongst Gabriel's waste.

"Like I said, dull," Gabriel quipped, before he let out a noise of triumph as inspiration struck. "Aha. Where would you be without me, eh, Cassie?" He heaved himself off Castiel's bed and crossed the small room in a single stride, proceeding to yank open his brother's chest of drawers and start to search through each one, ignoring Castiel's cry of protest. When the elder Novak had eventually found what he was looking for - two different socks, messing up his brother's neatly organised sock collection, much to Castiel's chagrin - he crouched down onto the floor so that he was effectively hidden under the desk.

"Gabriel? What on - ?"

" _Hello, there!_ " Gabriel stuck a hand above the desk, a sock pulled over it, imitating his brother's deep tone of voice. " _I'm Sockstiel, and I hate people!_ " He raised the other sock-covered hand. " _And I'm Sockbriel, the much cooler, much more attractive older brother, who has to deal with my nerdy little brother refusing to leave his dorm room and refusing to throw away those stupid bee pyjamas_ \- Hey!" Castiel had yanked one of his socks back - "Sockbriel", to be exact. "Sheesh, just trying to help, little bro! You're such a misery! Don't you think he's a misery, Sockstiel?" He nodded at the sock puppet. " _Yes, big brother Gabriel, Castiel is such a misery!_ "

Meg rolled her eyes, swinging her legs over the side of the unoccupied bed. "Okay. I think this is the point where I leave, before some big sock fight breaks out." Extremely likely between the Novak siblings. She stood, stretching her limbs, grabbing her jacket from the foot of the bed. "Hey," she said suddenly, as if she'd just been reminded of something. "Did you have any luck with that roommate thing in the end, Clarence?"

Castiel let out a sigh. Ever since the leak-in-the-roof situation, the people who worked in Student Services had decided to re-evaluate his living accommodations and concluded that, really, since he no longer had a roommate (he'd been assigned one at the start of the year, but they'd dropped out during the first week; Castiel had barely learned their name before they were gone), he really would be more suited to another room, a single room, on the other side of campus, miles away from the building where he had all of his seminars. He'd put out a notice advertising for a new roommate in a vain attempt to avoid the inconvenience, but nothing had ever come of that. Within a week, he would find himself being relocated into a new room.

He shook his head in response to Meg's question. "I have to start packing up by the end of the week. Nobody ever got back to me about sharing the room."

"Um, actually -" Gabriel had moved again and was back to sitting on his brother's bed, now looking shifty. "That's not entirely -"

" _Gabriel..._ " Castiel narrowed his eyes. Meg raised an eyebrow at the dangerous expression on her best friend's face, and decided that now would be wise to back out of the room, calling "See you two idiots later," as she went, providing, of course, that Gabriel was actually _still alive_ by the time that the day was out.

"What have you done?" Castiel persisted.

His brother was silent for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not he should confess to anything. "I may or may not have hacked into your email account and intercepted the emails about the roommates -"

" _Gabriel!_ "

"Oh, c'mon, Cassie, your password is ABCD! A four year old could crack that!"

Castiel glanced at the red light of the camera, still recording. "Could you not reveal my private information on camera?"

"Just edit this bit out, then!"

"I don't know how to do that yet!"

Gabriel let out a sharp and exasperated exhale, but he still moved back to put a little more space between his brother and himself. "Look, all I did was talk to them! Make sure that they were right for you!"

"You make it sound like you were trying to hook me up with them rather than judge my ability to live with them."

"Sheesh, Cassie, I've lost all hope of that ever happening after watching you fail at romance one too many times. Do you remember the last time I tried to set you up? I'm not putting either of us through anything like that ever again. Anyway, back on topic, I may or may not have found you the perfect roommate through my little interrogations."

"Oh, yes?" Castiel looked interested in spite of the fact that Gabriel had meddled, yet again.

"Well..." The smirk was now back on the elder Novak's face. "I say _perfect_." Castiel's eyes narrowed once more.

"What? What is it?"

" _Nothing!_ What're you looking so worried about, little bro?"

"You've done something to screw with me, haven't you? What have you done this time?"

Before Gabriel could answer - or try to defend his non-existent innocence - the door swung open, banging against the wall and making the two brothers jump, effectively ending their conversation, and turn their attention towards the blonde student that was now standing in the middle of the room, backpack slung over his back, jacket on his arm.

"Hey," he greeted offhandedly, seemingly oblivious to the bewilderment - and also amusement - from the others in the room. "You Cas?"

"Castiel," Castiel corrected quickly, his usual head tilt accompanying his confused frown. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Name's Dean Winchester," the student replied, unceremoniously dropping his bag onto the middle of the floor, too busy connecting his IPod to a pair of portable speakers; the thumping guitar chords of AC/DC began to blare out. "I'm your new roommate, buddy." He all but hurled himself onto the spare bed opposite Castiel's, taking a moment to raise an eyebrow at the dumbfounded student sitting at his desk. "Nice jammies, by the way."

Castiel glanced down at the bee pyjama pants he'd been wearing for the past two days, then looked back up at Dean. " _What?_ "

"Just tellin' you that I like the bees, Cas."

"It's Castiel," he corrected again, this time with a little less patience. "And, what exactly do you mean, you're my new roommate?"

"Exactly what it says on the tin, Angel." Dean glanced up to smirk at him, kicking off his shoes and letting them clatter to the floor without bothering to pick them up.

"What did you just call me?" Castiel's face switched from confusion to mildly horrified in the space of a few seconds. "Okay - No - There has to be some mistake -”

“Sorry,” Dean said, although the tone of his voice didn’t sound sorry at all. “No mistake.” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and threw it in Castiel’s general direction. “There. Paperwork that says I live here now. Your brother signed it himself.”

Castiel stared down at it for a moment and then looked back up, his expression now more than just mildly horrified. “Oh, this is not - No, no, you're not - You can't be my new - _Gabriel_ -!" He turned back to his brother, only to find that his bed was empty. It seemed that the elder Novak sibling had wisely taken this opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed, leaving Castiel alone in Dean's company with the obnoxiously loud chorus of _Highway To Hell_ playing in the background.


	2. Patience Is A Rare Virture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's been living with Castiel for three days, and the Novak is not impressed.

Three days later, the song was still playing.

Castiel grew to discover, very quickly, that Dean's collection of music was no larger than five tracks (consisting of classic rock, and one Taylor Swift song), tracks that were played on repeat constantly, from the moment he got up until the minute he went to bed.

Castiel also grew to quickly realise that doing anything in his room was becoming completely impossible. When he studied, he liked peace, he liked quiet - _not_ being distracted by something to do with Dean freaking Winchester, and, on day three of their shared living, he had grabbed his textbook and escaped, pulling his beloved trenchcoat over his shoulders as he all but sprinted from the room, slamming the door behind him. Not that Dean seemed to show any reaction to the fact that his roommate had left and that he was... _mildly irritated_ with him. In fact, if anything, the music actually got _louder_ as the Novak left the dorm room of hell. Castiel considered himself a pretty patient person, but there was only so many times Taylor Swift could tell him that the players were going to play and the haters were going to hate before he slowly and painfully went insane.

Thankfully, it was a dry, crisp day outside, and so Castiel was able to walk to the two blocks to the campus library in blissful silence, save for the sound of his own breathing and a high pitched ringing in his ears that came from listening to too much loud music in one sitting. He was pretty sure that he would go deaf if he continued sharing with Dean any longer; at least then he would have silence all the time. That was something to look forward to. He'd gone without silence for too long.

He managed to seek out Meg and Gabriel in the library when he arrived, bickering amongst themselves over whether Pop Tarts or Oreos were better (Gabriel was arguing for the side of Oreos); he sighed gratefully as he slid into his usual seat at their usual table. Normality was welcomed with open arms right now, especially when he sat down without being greeted by Dean Winchester all but screaming the lyrics to _Eye Of The Tiger_ at the top of his lungs. He rubbed his fingers against his temples at the mere memory of it, finding his glasses in his pocket to take the strain off his brain.

"So," Gabriel began smugly, thankfully keeping his voice down. "How are you getting along with your new roommate, Cassie?"

Castiel exhaled sharply, fixing his brother with a hard stare, flipping to the correct page in his textbook. "How am I -? He's the roommate pulled straight from my own personal _hell_!"

"So, swimmingly, then," Gabriel commented, as Meg raised her eyebrow at the younger Novak.

"Sheesh, Clarence. Little harsh there. He can't be _that_ bad."

"Can't be -?" Castiel began, but was cut off by a glare from the librarian. He lowered his voice as he continued, using his fingers to count off all of Dean's offences. "He keeps wearing my clothes when he owns plenty himself; he plays hideously loud music all day and every day; he never cleans anything; he steals more of my food than _Gabriel_ does; he was using my favourite pillow as a footrest; and, just yesterday, I found him doing... _things_ with a girl from my business class!”

“Well, what’s wrong with that?”

“They were in _my_ bed!" Castiel let out another groan, resting his head on the table top. Even going to sleep right there would be more relaxing than sleeping in the same room as Dean Winchester.

Gabriel let out a snort, unable to keep the grin from his face. "Seems like a match made in heaven to me. Doesn't anybody else think so - Ow!" Meg had jabbed him in the shins under the table. "Sheesh, why must you hurt me this way, woman?" The girl rolled her eyes before tactfully changing the subject; she was pretty sure talking about Dean was the _last_ thing Castiel currently wanted to do.

"Have you gone through any of the footage we shot, Clarence?"

Castiel lifted his head off the table long enough to raise an eyebrow at her. "It's proven to be pretty difficult to do when your roommate is blasting _Sweet Home Alabama_ less than three metres away."

Meg chewed the end of her pen. "We could always re-shoot in my room. I doubt Hannah would care if we borrowed her desk for a little while."

"Re-shoot -? What about my sock puppets?" Gabriel looked affronted. "Those were comedy gold!"

"Nobody trying to learn about campus will be interested in your portrayal of me, Gabriel."

"It was better than anything _you_ came up with, Cassie!"

"Quit pouting and be quiet, Older Novak." Meg gave him a playful shove. "This isn't Kindergarten."

"Bet _they_ would be more accepting of my sock puppets, you monsters," Gabriel grumbled, but he quietened even so.

The three of them stayed sitting at their table for a little while longer, working in silence save for Gabriel's sighs and occasional mutterings about creative talent being suppressed by those that _just didn't understand_ , before Meg and Castiel collectively decided (with a lot of persuasion on Meg’s part) that it was a good time to return to the dorm room and pick up the camera, something the latter was not very enthusiastic about. An hour of silence was not enough to counteract the three days of torture he had just endured. Not that Meg understood that; she only laughed when he tried to mention this, and simply quickened her pace so that they arrived back in his room even faster than usual, pushing the door open with ease once they got there.

For the first time in three days, it was completely silent inside.

Castiel heaved a sigh of relief as he followed Meg inside, although he almost tripped over a pile of Dean's unwashed clothes that lay in the middle of the floor. He glared at the offending items as he recaptured his balance, picking them up by his fingertips and dumping them on Dean's bed, one by one.

"See?" He complained loudly. "Look at this - I told you he never cleans anything! And my refrigerator!" He peered inside for a moment, before slamming the door. "I put a whole pie in there this morning, and he's already freaking eaten the entire thing! That was supposed to last me two days - Meg, it's not funny!"

"What?" Meg had seated herself at Castiel's desk and had to crane her neck to look at him, still chuckling. "Oh. No. Whilst your little old married couple act is entertaining, Clarence, I was just looking at these." She gestured for him to come over.

"You're looking at all my recordings?" Castiel looked confused. "Why?" He leaned over her shoulder to get a better look at the camera file currently on screen. "That was yesterday. After I found him with the girl in my bed."

He'd sent the female student on her way when he'd interrupted the scene - Lisa might have been her name, but Castiel wasn't entirely sure -, much to Dean's annoyance. He'd pulled himself out of Castiel's bed, glaring at his horrified roommate.

"What the hell, dude? I was just about to get laid!"

Castiel had stared at him incredulously. "You were in my bed!"

"Yeah, about to get laid!"

"In _my_ bed!"

" _Laid!_ "

" _My bed!_ "

They'd continued on like this for at least five minutes, scowling at each other the entire time, before Dean gave up, shaking his head and muttering something about how nerdy roommates couldn’t see the bigger picture, whilst Castiel switched the camera on and glared at the reflection of the blinking red light on his desk until Dean left the room, thankfully taking his deafening music with him, which meant that Castiel could finally change into his bee pyjamas without being heckled by either Dean or Taylor Swift from the other side of the bathroom door, quite forgetting that the camera was still on and rolling as he burrowed down in bed with his business textbook in his lap and tried to see if he could make sense of anything before revision for mid terms would have to start. The peace and quiet had only lasted roughly five to ten minutes, however; one moment, Castiel had been squinting at the page over the top of his glasses, not understanding what in heaven or hell the textbook was talking about, and the next moment the door was being kicked open and the light was suddenly being switched off, and Dean was stumbling across the room whilst locked in a very, very, _very_ compromising embrace with Lisa, who hadn't noticed that a) Castiel was watching them or b) that he was even in the room at all. In fact, the first thing Castiel had done when his brain had realised what was happening was grab his pillow and pull it over his ears, all but throwing himself from the cocoon of his duvet and scrambling into the bathroom to avoid watching the spectacle (he had to return a few seconds later to retrieve the camera). The couple on the bed next to his hadn't even batted an eyelid in his direction.

Meg smirked at the frozen image of Castiel's face on the screen, a mixture of horror, terror and mortification. "You look like you're gonna throw up, Clarence."

"I almost did," he replied bitterly; the memory of him crouching on the toilet seat with a pillow over his ears to block out the noises coming from Dean's bed was not exactly a pleasant one.

Meg shook her head, another chuckle escaping her before she turned her attention back to the collection of clips. "What's this one?" She clicked on another file, one of Castiel's attempted re-shoots from roughly two days prior. It was the one thirty minute period since becoming roommates with Castiel that Dean had been gracious enough to plug headphones into his IPod (but that was only because he had knocked one of his speakers over and his brother was fixing it for him).

"Hello," Video Castiel greeted, sounding more comfortable than he had done the first time. "My name is Castiel Novak, and for my business class, I'm going to be making a short series of videos on -"

" _RISIN' UP, BACK ON THE STREET, DID MY TIME, TOOK MY CHANCES_ -"

Video Castiel turned slowly to glare at Video Dean, who was slumped lazily on his bed, a magazine in hand, oblivious to anything else going on in the room. "Dean -"

" _WENT THE DISTANCE, NOW I'M BACK ON MY FEET, JUST A MAN, AND HIS WILL TO SURVIVE_."

"Dean -!"

" _SO MANY TIMES, IT HAPPENS TOO FAST_ -" Castiel reached out and grabbed the thing closest to him - his favourite pillow, the one with the bee motif stitched to the front - and hurled it in Dean's direction, hitting him square in the face. He stopped singing for a moment, glancing down at the pillow in his lap, and then looked up at Castiel, who was still watching him, yelling "Thanks, Angel!" over the loud music in his ears, placing the pillow at the foot of his bed and resting his feet on it, much to Video Castiel's dismay.

Even now, Castiel was scowling at the screen. "There's really no point saving any of these. There's of no use to anyone."

"Actually..." Meg dragged her eyes away from the screen, the amused grin still plastered across her face. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"What do you mean?"

"You said you needed something good for your project, right, Clarence? People could really get in to this vlogging stuff. I mean, watch some of these clips, they're entertaining like hell, and they're interesting enough."

"What's so interesting about watching me and my roommate yelling at each other?" Castiel was frowning. "It has nothing to do with going to college; it just shows people that I have a terrible roommate and that my brother thinks that he's hilarious."

"Just trust me on this one. You keep filming this stuff, and you're good to go. You can always figure out how to edit bits as you make more videos! C'mon, it's a great idea! Besides, you know Gabriel will get a kick out of the fact that his sock puppets are stars of the Internet."

"Of course I trust you, Meg. I just don't see how this is supposed to not send people running for the hills and land me with a failed project."

The girl rolled her eyes. "You'll see, Clarence. You'll see."


	3. Out And About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel makes off with the video camera, and Castiel gets an unpleasant surprise.

"Hey! The red light means it's going, right?"

"Gabriel!" Castiel tried to grab the camera from his brother's hands and failed as Gabriel held it out of his reach, grinning. The two Novaks, along with Meg, were seated on the concrete steps outside of the student coffee bar, fingers wrapped around paper cups filled with warm liquid to try and keep out the autumn chill. They'd tried to get into Castiel's dorm room to brainstorm ideas for future vlogs, ones that Castiel would make certain wouldn’t include sock puppets, but Dean had managed to wedge something - Castiel suspected that it was his desk chair - under the door handle, and, judging by the sounds that were passing through the door, things were happening in that room that Castiel didn't want to witness (again).

"You need more than one video for your little project, Cassie. And what could be better than real human drama caught on tape for everyone to see?" Gabriel moved back so that both his brother and Meg were in the frame. "Behold!" He cried in a terrible British accent. "Castiel indulges in his favourite pastime: complaining about his roommate, whilst his girlfriend looks on in despair."

"Gabriel!"

Meg rolled her eyes. "I'm not his girlfriend, numbskull. I mean, no offence, Clarence, but you're not my type."

"Thanks." Castiel blinked. "I think."

"Denial!" Gabriel whispered conspiringly, before speaking at normal volume again. "Bless Cassie's little cotton socks. Can't get a girl no matter how much he tries."

Meg took a long drink of her coffee. "I could always set you up with someone if you're that lonely, Clarence. My roommate Hannah's available; remember, you met her a few weeks ago when she interviewed you for that article she was doing for the student paper? She's really nice - well, bit too nice, if you ask me, but still. I think you guys would get along well together."

"That's exactly what Gabriel said about April," Castiel replied.

The elder Novak shifted, looking uncomfortable, which was a rare thing to see. For the past three years, April had been a banned subject of conversation around Castiel. Gabriel had set her up with his little brother during high school, and it had come to a rather unpleasant ending. No wonder Castiel was now so terrible at romance, even worse than he had been back then.

"I've told you before, I really am sorry about that, Cassie. And I don't say that very often." Castiel nodded, but he still looked disheartened, musing over memories of happier days with April. If he wasn't careful, he'd relapse into another phase of heartbreak, and Gabriel couldn't watch his brother pass through another one of those, so he quickly searched the area around them for some kind of distraction.

"Hey! Balthazar!" He eventually spotted his roommate coming out of the library and waved him over.

"Gabe!" The other student hi-fived him, before nodding to the others. "Cassie. Megan."

" _Meg_ ," the girl corrected through gritted teeth.

Balthazar only laughed. "Whatever you say, cutie." He nodded towards the camera in Gabriel's hand, which was moving between him and Meg, who was now glowering at the concrete beneath her. "Hey, this is for your little video blog thing, isn't it, Cassie?"

"Yes -" Castiel began, but Gabriel swiftly cut him off before he could launch into another long explanation of why exactly he was carrying a camera around everywhere.

"Where are my manners?" Gabriel gestured for Balthazar to step directly into the centre of the frame. "Introduce yourself, my fine friend."

Balthazar gave a mock bow. "Well, lovely Internet folk watching little Cassie's vlogs, my name is Balthazar, the roommate of the Gabriel Novak you have already been introduced to, prankster to the stars, and future all-round man of success. I’m also king of karaoke and I make a wicked cheese omelet, if any of you ladies out there watching are interested." He winked into the lens, making Gabriel snort loudly.

Castiel had his head in his hands. "Gabriel, _please_. Give me the camera back."

"Relax, Cassie." Balthazar dropped down to sit on the steps, slinging an arm around the younger Novak's shoulders. "You can always edit this bit out."

"He doesn't know how to do that yet," Gabriel replied before Castiel could say the words himself. "Believe me, given half the chance, he would have left my sock puppets to die on the cutting room floor in favour of his droning monologue about the importance of _studying_ and _maturity_ and _staying true and pure of heart!_ " His voice took on a mocking tone, rolling his eyes. "Of course, we all know what the really important things are." Balthazar grinned. Castiel let out a soft groan from behind his palm. "Here, Balthazar, catch this and don’t drop it!"

"Hey!" Meg made a lunge as Gabriel hurled the camera towards his roommate. "Don't you dare throw th - I will _kill_ you!"

Balthazar caught it deftly in one hand, pointing it in the elder Novak's direction. "You, see, people of the Internet," Gabriel began, "listening to Cassie whining about his jerk face roommate is all very well and good, but that's not what college is truly about."

"Gabriel..."

"College is about fun." Gabriel held his arms up to the heavens. "Fun, and the Friday night discount at the student bar, am I right?" Balthazar let out a loud cheer, nearly dropping the camera as he tried to keep the focus on Gabriel and clap in appreciation at the same time. Castiel managed to loosen it from his grip, glaring at his brother. "Stop, Gabriel!"

"Cassie, you act as though it's some scandal that college kids get hammered on Friday nights."

"It's not a scandal, Gabriel, it's just not relevant."

"Not rele - It’s the best part of the whole college experience!" Gabriel protested. Castiel sighed in response, switching the camera off and pocketing it in his trenchcoat. That felt like enough filming for one day.

The inevitable bad weather of the overcast Kansas sky eventually broke up the gathering on the steps of the coffee bar; Castiel excused himself under the pretence of saving the camera from getting caught in the rain (leaving Meg and Balthazar to bicker about where they were going to relocate to whilst Gabriel merely looked on and laughed), heading back to the dorm room, praying that Dean had finished whatever it was that he was doing - he certainly didn't want to picture what exactly that might have entailed. Luckily for him, Dean had unwedged the chair from under the door handle and was no where to be seen.

Just as he had done every time he found the room empty, Castiel breathed a sigh of relief, hanging up his trenchcoat and moving to sit in front of his computer, pulling up his email inbox (he'd changed his password since the roommate incident; Gabriel wouldn't guess EDFG in a hurry). Apparently, four people had commented on the first vlog, and so he switched tabs to the website - _Castiel And Friends_ , Meg had named it, and he had to agree that it had a ring to it - scrolling down the page to where the comments were listed.

 **ArchangelGabriel:** _Whoever thought of making those sock puppets was a genius._

Gabriel. Of course. Not even trying to hide it. Castiel rolled his eyes and went to the next comment.

 **AlistairTheAlistar:** _Nice lady friend you got there. She available?_

Castiel ignored that one entirely.

 **SammyMoose:** _So, you're the one who got stuck with my brother, then? I feel for you, dude._

"So do I," Castiel muttered.

 **Impala67:** _Who's that devilishly handsome guy in the background, though? ;)_

No prizes for guessing who that commenter probably was. Castiel sighed heavily; seemed like there was no escaping Dean Winchester, even via the Internet. He rose from his seat and crossed the room in search of some food before he started painfully failing at editing Gabriel's footage properly, only to find a post-it note taped to the refrigerator.

_Cas,_

_We're out of food._

_May or may not be my fault (oops)._

"Wh - You're kidding!" Castiel yanked the refrigerator door open, followed swiftly by the cupboard. Sure enough, there wasn't a scrap of food to be found, save for one lone crumb. He let out a high pitched shriek (one that he wouldn't admit to later), crushing the post-it note in his hand.

" _DEAN!_ "


	4. The Assbutt And The Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel loses what little chill he has, Dean is an assbutt, and Crowley offers his (unwanted) opinion.

"This is why I _explicitly_ told Gabriel not to meddle anymore!"

Castiel threw another box of grapes into the refrigerator with a scowl; he'd gotten back from the grocery store less than ten minutes previously, after discovering that his roommate had eaten all of his supplies, and, since Gabriel and Meg were no where to be found, was now in the process of ranting to the maybe-recording-maybe-not-recording camera, however childish the rational part of his brain was telling him that it was.

"Two days worth of food - _gone_!" He scoffed loudly, running a hand through his dark hair. "Who eats two days of worth food in less than two hours? No healthy human being should eat two days worth of food -!"

"Talkin' to yourself again, Cas?" Dean had found his way back to the room and wandered in, his jacket sliding off his shoulders and on to the bed before it tumbled to the floor. "Is that pie?"

Castiel stared at him in disbelief. " _What?_ "

"Mm, well, thank God, because I'm starvin'." He reached over Castiel's shoulder into the refrigerator and pulled out the pie, ripping off the cellophane wrapper and dumping it on his bed before it too joined his jacket on the carpet.

Castiel glowered at him. "Really? Are you seriously eating that?"

"It's pie," Dean replied simply, breaking a piece off and shoving it into his mouth as he climbed onto his bed, making a point to retrieve Castiel's bee pillow for his feet. "Besides, I'm hungry."

"You literally ate us all out of food just over an hour ago!"

"I had to offer my guest of honour some refreshment!"

"Guest of - !" Castiel cut himself off with a snort. "What's honourable about having sex with someone in your roommate's bed?"

"Oh, come on, you're not still mad about that, are you?"

"Still mad ab - _Yes_ , I'm still mad about that! You were going to defile someone in my bed! I was ready to bleach the sheets - and you hadn't even done anything!" He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if he had walked in on something more. He would have had to burn his bedsheets, that was for certain.

Dean pulled a face, mumbling his words through a mouthful of pie. "Sheesh, chill out a bit, Angel. People hook up. This is college; it's kind of a given."

"It's not _just_ that!"

"Well, what is it, then?"

" _Everything!_ It's everything - the clothes left everywhere, the food, the abominably loud music, the lack of hygiene, the fact that you just stole my freaking pillow _again_ -!" He yanked it back from under Dean's feet, hugging it to his chest like a child would hug a teddy bear.

Dean had put the pie down by this time and risen to his feet, eyes narrowed. "Huh. Well, if your undies are in such a twist about it, why don't I just move out of your way so you can sit and whine to your little Internet vlog thing for the next hour or so?"

"Well, maybe, I wouldn't say those things if you didn't constantly act like such a...such a..." Castiel struggled for the right insult. "...an assbutt!"

"Ass-what?" Dean looked momentarily confused by the choice of word, but the pause in their argument didn't last long. "You know what, whatever, dude. I don't care." He crossed his arms over his chest. "If you feel so strongly about this crap, then I might as well haul my ass out of here and save you more trouble."

Castiel mimicked his position, hurling the pillow across the room so that it landed on his bed with a dull thud.. "Fine by me."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

“Fine!”

"Hey!" The new voice from the doorway startled the two shouting roommates. Castiel glanced towards the source of the interruption; Crowley, the business lecturer, was leaning against the door frame, arms folded, smirking at the scene in front of him. "When you've finished having your little lovers' tiff, Castiel, I'd like a word."

"Oh, don't worry, I think we're done here." Dean scowled as he spoke, stalking out of the room without another word, not bothering to pick his jacket up off the floor. Crowley merely raised his eyebrow.

"What's wrong with the squirrel?"

Castiel snorted, the sound without humor, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. "It's a long story. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Bobby seems to think that, just because I’m sharing his flat, I'm his personal slave or something of the like." He glowered at the mention of the other man. "He kept insisting that I come up here and check that you've made a start on your project. Don't see why, though. It appears half the campus has seen your little video blog."

Castiel frowned. "If you knew that I'd already started my project, why did you come and see me, then?"

"Because the infuriating imbecile wouldn't leave me alone until I did!" Crowley shook his head, before stepping completely into the room, gesturing to the desk where the camera was set up. "Come on, then. Show me. At least now I have video evidence to prove that I was actually here, so, maybe, I could get some peace and quiet for a change."

"I know how you feel." Castiel seated himself in front of the computer, and brought the video up on the screen, Crowley watching over his shoulder. He snorted loudly when Castiel ran to hide in the bathroom with a pillow clamped over his ears and then had to run back for the camera before it all got a little Non Suitable For Work, but he didn't comment until after the video had finished and faded out. Apart from the one glimpse of amusement at the escapades, he didn't exactly look in any way impressed by the work - or maybe, Castiel suspected, he just didn't particularly _care_ , for Crowley was like that - but, eventually, he nodded once.

"Hm."

"Yes?" "It's all well and good, Angel..." Castiel pulled a face as the man coined Dean's nickname for him. "...Bit too much _Bridget Jones_ -esque for my liking but I can live with it. I take it you _didn’t_ edit this yourself?”

“Meg did it,” Castiel admitted. “Apparently, the clip of me running into the bathroom with a pillow clamped over my head was too great an opportunity for her to miss. _Call it an extremely early birthday present, Clarence,_ she said. If it were really my birthday, she would have edited out the sock puppets.” His last sentence came out as a low grumble.

“Right.” Crowley didn’t look interested about when Castiel’s birthday actually was in the slightest. “Very well. Carry on, then, Cas."

" _Castiel._ "

"Cas. Castiel. Whatever. It's the same thing, really." The lecturer shook his head. "Don't get your wings in a twist."

"Wings?" Castiel frowned, before realising. "What - _Oh_. Angel. Wings. That wasn't funny."

"That was very funny, actually. Honestly. You just have no concept of humor, Castiel."

"I understand humor well enough."

"Clearly not that much," Crowley muttered as he turned to leave the room. "Although, I must say, assbutt is a very amusing insult. Well, to everybody except the squirrel, that is."

Castiel blinked. "You heard all of that?"

Crowley looked back over his shoulder as he paused in the doorway. "Darling, I'm surprised the entire _floor_ didn't hear you with the way you two were shouting. It's a wonder how people didn't get the wrong idea about what was really going on here."

"What wrong idea is that?" Castiel questioned aloud, but the lecturer had already gone, sauntering off down the hall. After a few moments of silence, the student turned his attention back to the camera, which had been on all the while.

"So, Internet," he began. "What can we learn from today's events? Well, for one thing, we've learnt that I have no social skills whatsoever; because, not only have I just insulted and possibly humiliated my roommate on camera, I might have just sent him away permanently... _Crap_..." He let out a groan, letting his head fall and bang on the desk.

Freaking roommates.

Freaking Dean Winchester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying it so far!


	5. A Friend To Warm The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel tries to make amends.

It wasn't until the next morning that Castiel saw anything of Dean again. He'd tried to keep himself awake as the night wore on, in order to see if he could make some kind of amends with his roommate for their argument, but his eyes eventually fluttered completely shut around three in the morning, and, by the time he reopened them, it had gone ten o'clock and he'd missed over an hour of his seminar for the day. Bleary eyed, he glanced over at the bed opposite his, half expecting to see it empty and the room void of Dean's things, but the duvet was pulled up around a person-shaped lump and a tuft of dark blonde hair was visible against the pillow.

Despite the issue of their raging argument that needed to be resolved, Castiel didn't feel particularly keen on the idea of waking Dean from his sleep, and so he heaved himself out of bed, grabbing a change of clothes as he crept towards the bathroom, wondering how he was going to shower sufficiently without making too much noise.

He had only just dried his hair before his door swung open with a loud creak, and Gabriel practically skipped into the room, helping himself to a handful of grapes from the refrigerator, as usual.

"Skipping class, little bro?" He smirked as he took a seat on Castiel's bed. "Impressive. Didn't think you had it in you."

Castiel stirred his cup of iced coffee, pulling a face at the harsh taste when he took a sip; his homemade stuff was never as good as the liquid served at the overpriced student coffee bar. "Aren't you supposed to be in class too?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Nah. They won't miss me."

"Gabriel..." Castiel began, ready to start gently lecturing his brother about the importance of going to class, before he remembered his own predicament and closed his mouth with a sigh. "Fine. If you can't be bothered to go to class, you can help me with my latest video, if you want."

Gabriel's smirk turned into a fully-fledged grin. "Of course, little bro. Whatever you need. Shall I get Sockstiel out again?"

"Not exactly." Castiel grabbed a textbook from the pile on his desk and pushed it into his brother's hands. "Read this for me."

There was a pause. "Why, may I ask?" Gabriel looked down at the item in disgust, as if it was something his brother had picked up from the sidewalk.

"Well, since my entire vlog thus far has consisted of us and Meg and nothing to actually do with being a student, so I thought I'd better film something with us actually doing some studying for once -"

" _Ugh!_ " Gabriel recoiled and dropped the offending textbook in his lap. "Cassie! That's so _dull_ \- Hey!" A pillow had sailed through the air and hit Gabriel in the head. "What the -?" Dean peered out from under his duvet, squinting against the daylight leaking into the room from behind the blinds.

"Pipe down, man," he mumbled, before collapsing back onto the mattress again, face down. Gabriel raised an eyebrow, trying to form some kind of comeback but being unable to. Castiel smirked; however much he complained about living with Dean, he had to respect his ability to get his brother to shut up with just one sentence and a pillow. The elder Novak wasn’t easily silenced.

Eventually, Gabriel gave up trying to form something witty enough to reply with, and so he settled back on his brother's bed to pretend to read the textbook in his hands, often sending the slumbering Dean scorching glares as he did so whilst grumbling childishly under his breath about how hurt he felt at being betrayed like this, _especially_ when he had done the Winchester a favour by letting him move in. Castiel rolled his eyes at the scene before focusing his attention on the camera.

"So, viewers, despite what _some_ may think, college shouldn't be entirely about parties and alcohol and hangovers. To be a good student, you have to subject yourself to intense hard work, and a majority of that will be when the time comes to start studying for midterms. As Gabriel behind me is demonstrating -" He gestured to his brother, only to get a foul look inflicted on the back of his head "- a good student will need to keep on top of their studying if they want to remember everything by the time that finals come around -" A loud banging on the door stopped him from continuing (much to Gabriel's relief).

"At least some people haven't forgotten how to knock," Castiel commented as he rose from his chair, with a meaningful look directed at his brother.

Gabriel stuck his tongue out. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Cassie," he grumbled, scowling at the pages of the textbook he wasn't reading.

Castiel shook his head and opened the door, half expecting it to be Meg (even though he had never actually seen her knock on any door _ever_ during their two months of friendship). Instead, he was surprised to find Lisa standing there, arms tightly folded, brows pulled together in an irritated frown.

"Oh. Hello."

"Castiel," she greeted with a nod, her dark eyes trying to see past him into the room. "Is Dean in there with you?"

"Um..." Castiel paused. Lisa looked more than mildly angered about something and he was fifty percent certain that Dean had something to do with it; would it be safer for him to lie and say that he hadn't seen his roommate since the day before? Before he could decide, however, Gabriel's voice answered for him.

"Yeah. He's here." There was a scuffling sound. "Get up, ass, it's for you. And, for God’s sake, have some decency and put some pants on before you speak to her."

Dean mumbled something incoherent under his breath; Castiel turned to see that he'd pulled on his jeans from the day before as he came to the door.

"Everythin' okay, babe?" He asked, squinting even in the dim light of the hallway.

"No," Lisa snapped. "It isn't okay. Nothing is _okay_."

Castiel glanced between the couple and gave an awkward cough. "Well...This conversation is clearly one I'm not a part of, so...I'm just going to be - Yeah." He gave Dean an encouraging push forward, sending him out into the hallway. "Enjoy," he said weakly, before quickly shutting the door.

" _"Enjoy"_?" Gabriel quoted, eyebrow raised.

"What was I supposed to say?"

“I don’t know. How about, _I’m sorry that your relationship is about to come to its end_?”

Castiel rummaged in the cupboard, pulling out a box of cookies and cramming one into his mouth. "Whatever I said wouldn't have made any improvements. It's better if I just stay completely out of it - _Gabriel!_ "

The elder Novak had leapt off his brother's bed, abandoning the textbook, and was now leaning against the door, pressing his ear against it in a vain attempt to overhear the conversation happening outside. "What?"

"It's none of our business!"

"So?" Gabriel pushed his face closer until there was the shadow of a red mark against his cheek. "It's amusing." Castiel let out a groan, and his brother smirked. "What, you aren't a _little_ bit curious as to what's going on?"

"No!" Castiel insisted.

"Liar," Gabriel replied with a snort.

"Alright. Fine. Maybe a little bit. But that does not mean I indulge in spying through the keyhole like a five year old."

"Don't be an idiot, Cassie. These doors don't have keyholes." Gabriel returned his attention to what was going on on the other side of the door. "Ooh, she's giving him a really hard time. Not going easy on him at all. Can't say I blame her, really, if he's as wonderful a boyfriend as you say he is a roommate." He caught his brother's glare. "S'true, isn't it?"

"May I remind you that _you_ told him to go ahead and move right in? _I_ had nothing to do with this."

"I only said that because I thought your obsession with cleaning and organisation would drive him out after a few days and then things would go back to normal."

"Yes, well, clearly you've been proven wrong."

Gabriel wasn’t paying him any attention. "Wait, wait...Oh, oh, oh, she's breaking up with him! Ha!" He let out a snicker. "He so had it coming, the little wise ass."

"Gabriel!"

"What?"

"You can't say things like that!"

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply, but the door suddenly opened and narrowly missed bashing the elder Novak in the face, yet again. Served him right, Castiel supposed; it was none of their business, after all.

Dean came back into the room, hands stuffed into his pockets. From the look on his face, it was clear that Lisa was not going to be returning any time soon.

Gabriel cleared his throat in an attempt to break the awkward atmosphere as Dean slouched on his unmade bed, almost as if nothing had even happened, gaze fixed solely on the wall in front of him. "Well. This has been sufficiently interesting. Have fun making the rest of your video. Au revoir to you, little brother."

He backed slowly out of the room, leaving Dean and Castiel in profound silence. Castiel reached for a textbook and began to flick through it, watching the words blur out of focus, but the sound of pages turning seemed too loud in the quiet room, and so he stopped, leaving the book open on a random page and placing it on the desk in front of him, twisting around in his chair to look at his roommate.

"Are you alright?" He asked tentatively.

"No."

"Oh." There was another pause. Castiel tried again. "Do you want to talk about it...perhaps?"

"Do I look like I wanna talk about it, Cas?"

He didn't particularly want to correct his name at a time like this. "Well, no - I just thought - A problem shared is a problem halved...?" He trailed off when Dean's passive-aggressive expression focused on him. "Right. No problem sharing. Got it." His eyes drifted down to the desk, and then back up. "Just - Well, if you want to talk about it, I'll, um - I'll listen." He returned to the open book, waiting. He hadn't really spoken to Dean since they started living together - their initial conversations hadn't exactly gone well - but he'd observed enough to know that Dean could never keep silent for long. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Castiel heard a sigh coming from beside him.

"I said somethin' she didn't like. And probably did some stuff she didn't like too. Big deal."

"Ah." Castiel nodded. "Not living up to expectations, eh? I know how that feels." Dean frowned, and so he quickly elaborated. "I'm the dreaded middle child who followed two twin brothers. Michael is the smarter one, and Gabriel is the...well, Gabriel is the other one. And I'm not smart enough to follow after Michael, but I’m too serious to follow after Gabriel."

Dean shook his head with another sigh. "You don't - That's not what - That's not the same thing, Cas. That's family stuff. That ain't chick stuff."

"I could be more specific about "chick stuff", if you wanted."

"What the hell would _you_ know about chick stuff?"

"More than you would think, actually."

Dean raised an eyebrow, momentarily distracted. "You've dated chicks before?"

"As much as it might surprise you, yes. One. A long time ago. Back in high school." Castiel shifted in his chair so that he was fully facing his roommate. "Her name was April. Gabriel set me up with her."

"What was she like?"

"Smart, mostly. Funny. Pretty too. We went on dates for a few months; I grew to really like her." He gave a sad shrug. "It wasn't exactly to be, though. She found someone else, someone better, and dropped me like an unwanted piece of luggage."

"Ouch. Sorry, dude. That’s rough."

"It's alright. I haven't actually talked about it, well, to anyone, really. Not even Gabriel. It feels...refreshing."

"Can’t keep stuff like this bottled up,” Dean commented, although whether he was telling that to himself or to Castiel, the other student wasn’t sure. “So, what, you think we're both a couple of dumbasses?"

"I prefer the word _trusting_. Less dumb. Less ass." They shared something akin to a smile, before Castiel swallowed. "Listen. I'm sorry about yesterday. Calling you an assbutt wasn't very mature of me."

"Yeah, about that; where the hell did assbutt even come from?"

"I was having an argument with Gabriel one day, as usual, and my mother happened to walk in during the middle of it. I was about to call him an ass and she gave me a very dangerous look, and so I tried to change it to butt, but it kind of all came out as one word. Hence, assbutt."

"Did it work?"

"Not exactly. It had the opposite effect, actually. Gabriel practically wet himself laughing." They both let out a chuckle at the simultaneous mental image of the elder Novak sibling.

"Hey, for what it's worth, Angel, I'm sorry about the food...and for tryin' to get laid in your bed. And I don't make a habit of sayin' that, so, take note."

"Apology accepted." Castiel paused. "How about a truce?" He held out a hand.

"Truce." Dean reached out to shake the offered hand, only to be interrupted when the door crashed open and Gabriel tumbled into the room and lay sprawled across the floor. Meg gracefully stepped over him, coffee in hand; it was most likely that she'd been the one to push the door in the first place.

"Hey..." She glanced towards Dean. "...you guys." She raised a brow questioningly. "Um, Clarence, why was your brother sitting outside and trying to listen in through your door?"


	6. The Eve Of The Hallows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel forgets to turn the camera off (again), and witnesses something he wouldn't have seen otherwise.

"What do you mean, you're not going?"

Castiel sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. "I'm not going to the stupid Halloween party, Gabriel."

Gabriel stared at him incredulously, clad in one long bed sheet and sporting an enormous pair of papier-mache wings, painted a startling shade of bronze. In Castiel’s mind, the costume was deceiving."So, you're missing one of the most important social events of the semester in favour of sitting in your room?"

"Yes."

"In front of the camera?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

" _Why?_ " Now it was the younger Novak's turn to look incredulous. "Because I have a midterm to study for and I know none of the course material!"

" _Cassie!_ " Gabriel let out a groan, his palm going up to smack his forehead. "Your midterm isn't until the week before Thanksgiving! That's ages away!"

"It's three weeks away, Gabriel!"

"That's basically a month, Cassie. And a month is a long time, in my book. That's plenty of time for you to swat up."

"Not if you need to memorise two months of subject information in under half that time."

Gabriel shook his head. "C'mon, little bro, you never get out! I know that you're trying to promote the whole good student vibe for the sake of the vlogs, but it's not healthy to never go out and to not have fun."

"I go out!" Castiel protested. "I have fun!"

"Cassie, you, me and Meg sitting in the library reading books or in the coffee bar drinking overpriced coffee does not count as going out." Gabriel folded his arms, showing a rare flicker of the concerned sensible big brother he often didn't act upon. "I'm not saying this to be a jerk. I'm saying this because I think that you overwork yourself sometimes."

"I'm fine, Gabriel. Really. I am." The elder Novak didn't look convinced by his little brother's insistence. "Look, once my midterm is over, and there's a discount night on at the student bar, I'll come along too, how about that?"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Alright. But I've got my eye on you, little bro." He gave Castiel's shoulder a squeeze - a strange occurrence (Castiel was used to being whacked playfully on the back of his head when his brother wanted to make a point) - before he rose from his seat and stretched lazily, almost taking out his little brother's favourite lamp as he did so. "Don't work too hard now," he called over his shoulder, as he made for the door, crashing in to it a few moments later, due to the wings; he had to turn and walk sideways in order to actually leave, much to Castiel's amusement.

"You not goin' to the party, Cas?"

Castiel glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the familiar voice. Just over a week had passed since the day of Lisa's breakup with Dean and the big heart-to-heart conversation, and the two roommates had been tentatively tiptoeing around each other with cautious smiles and shy glances, almost as if they were complete strangers and had only just been introduced. Although, Castiel reasoned, they hadn't exactly spoken much before the assbutt situation, so they still kind of _were_ strangers to each other.

He shook his head in response to Dean's question. "I've got studying to do." He frowned, tilting his head to the side. "What's going on with your eyes?"

Dean grinned, rolling his eyes that were now concealed behind pure black contacts. "Pretty damn awesome, huh?"

"Very...realistic," Castiel replied. "Although, what exactly are you supposed to be?"

"A demon. I thought that one was obvious."

"Surely you mean you’re a _dean_ mon?" Castiel said, before wincing at his attempt at humor. Dean didn't seem to mind; he burst out laughing, in fact. The fact that Castiel had said it so seriously made it all the more amusing.

"You're hilarious sometimes, Angel. _Deanmon._ I like that."

"You should use it." The two shared a smile as Dean shrugged on his leather jacket, running a hand through his hair.

"Your brother was right, y'know."

"About what?"

"About you workin' too much. Just know he's not the only one who thinks that."

"I'm _fine_. Honestly."

"Right. I get that. But, are you sure about not goin'?" He asked again after a moment of silence. "We could pass off what you're wearin' as some kind of costume." He gestured to Castiel's shirt and pants. "You could be...a holy tax accountant or somethin'."

Castiel snorted. "I don't think I could pull that off. I'm not exactly excelling in my business classes. Which is why I need to study."

"Okay. If you're sure, man."

"Quite sure." Castiel gave him another soft smile. "But, thank you, Dean."

Dean shook his head as he made his way towards the door. "No problem, Angel. Have fun."

"You too," Castiel replied as Dean let the door close gently behind him. Face still pulled into a smile, he waited until his roommate was out of earshot, before he leaned over and switched the camera on.

"Happy Halloween, viewers!" He waved for a moment, before he realised that it looked ridiculous and stopped. "You may be wondering why I'm here in my room and not downstairs at the party like everyone else. Well, as I've said, many times before, a college life is a hard one. It requires you to devote time to studying, which means that, occasionally, you may have to sacrifice things like going out and having a good time in order to make sure that you are prepared for midterms, and, ultimately, finals." He paused, mulling over what he had just said. "Do I work too hard? Dean says that Gabriel's right, and that I overwork, but I don't think that I work hard _enough_. I mean, just look at this, I have re-read this section -" He held the page of the textbook up so that it was in frame "- nearly five times, and I still can't remember anything; so, since I'd rather not fail my midterm, I decided to pass on the party in order to get some work done. Who knows, maybe today will finally be the day I come to understand it." He flipped to another page in the book, resting his chin in his palm as he switched the radio on, humming along to the melody of _Greatest American Hero_ ’s theme song, pitching in when he had picked up the words to the chorus.

It didn't take long, however, for the paragraphs on the pages in front of him blurred together, intertwining with the lyrics of the song, and before Castiel knew it he was being dragged from the land of dreams and rudely awoken by the grey light of the early morning slinking in through the window.

" _No!_ " He let out a groan of frustration, one that only increased when he noticed the red light on the camera. "Crap, has this thing been recording all night?" He sighed, burrowing his face back onto the desk; it took him a few more minutes to become alert enough for him to realise his predicament.

His textbook was gone, closed and neatly stacked on top of the ever-growing pile of paperwork that littered his desk, replaced by his favourite bee pillow - that offered an explanation as to why he had been dreaming about lying on a marshmallow - and a blanket had been draped around his shoulders. He certainly didn't remember falling asleep like that.

Reaching for the camera, he hooked it up to his computer, opening the latest file. He fast-forwarded over his own ramblings and the endless amount of footage after his eyes drooped shut and his head had slid down onto the book; when he noticed that the door had opened in the corner of the shot, he stopped skipping and watched in confusion, as Dean Winchester strolled into the frame, stumbling a little in his step, dumping his jacket onto his bed before he noticed Castiel's sleeping form.

"Cas?" He peered over his shoulder at him. "You awake?"

"Mm..." Castiel grumbled in his sleep, burrowing his face further into the pages of his textbook. "No, Gabriel...Give me the bees..." (Real-life Castiel let out a groan at this; he sometimes said the most ridiculous things in his sleep). Dean let out a chuckle, shaking his head almost fondly.

"That doesn't exactly look comfy there, Angel," he mused quietly. "Here." He leaned over to retrieve the bee pillow from his roommate's bed, carefully lifting his head far enough that he could slide the textbook out from under his face and replace it. Castiel made a noise of contentment as his head hit his favourite pillow; Dean let out a soft snicker at the sight, pulling the blanket off his own bed and tucking it gently around the other student's shoulders.

"Night, Cas," he murmured, watching the peaceful scene for another moment, before he turned on his heel and walked from the room, shutting the door behind him. Castiel paused the recording, glancing over his shoulder at Dean's bed; empty, but the jacket was still slung there, meaning that he hadn't come back since then. Was that because he was embarrassed by what he'd done? Castiel couldn't imagine Dean wanting him to know that he'd essentially tucked him in like a child and then watched him sleep. He let out a sigh, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he glanced at the frozen image of his face still on the screen, clicking on the little trash can icon.

_Do you wish to delete this file?_

Castiel thought for another moment, before hitting the ENTER key. The picture on the screen faded away, a little message appearing in its place.

_File deleted._

There. Now there was no way things with Dean would get awkward by accidental footage of one roommate tucking the other one in at their desk. Castiel glanced at the time. It was a little after seven in the morning - he'd slept for nearly twelve hours, it seemed - and so he reached for his textbook and tucked it under his arm, grabbing his trenchcoat from the end of his bed.

He had an entire night of studying to catch up with.


	7. Best Burgers In Lawrence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Castiel bond over a mutual love of the cheese burgers at Harvelle's Roadhouse.

" _Heeeey_ , Clarence!" Castiel squinted at Meg's drunken grin as it beamed out of her video message from the night before; she had to raise her voice above the thumping music in the background. "You havin' fun without us?" The picture on the screen blurred slightly as she stumbled in her high heels, almost dropping her phone. "I don't really remember much about...well, 'bout anything, actually - just that this punch is freakin' _amazing!_ " She raised her glass at the screen, some of the liquid spilling over the side and onto her skirt, not that she seemed to care. "Hey! Numbskull!" She yelled over her shoulder. "Get your ass over here and say hi to your brother!"

"Cassie!" Gabriel cried gleefully; there was a scramble as he reached for the phone. "Cassie, little bro!" He waved manically. "Bet you're sorry you're missing out on all this, right?" Balthazar yelled something in the background, making Gabriel cheer before he turned back to the camera. "Anyway, you better be sleepin' and not studying right now, bro - 'cause, y'know, you shouldn't be overworking - Don't be a...be a numpty!" He let out a high-pitched giggle at his own joke. "I've had a _loooot_ to drink, Cassie Moo...Hey, hey, Meggy? How much have I had to drink?"

"A _loooot_ ," Meg parroted. She must have really had a lot to drink if she’d glossed over the fact that Gabriel called her “Meggy”.

"Yeah, yeah, Cassie, a _loooot_. Anyway, sleep well, little brother, and, er, and have pleasant dreams!"

"Dreams of bees!" Meg cut in.

"Yes!" Gabriel slung an arm around her shoulder. "Bees, and, er...and kittens!" They descended into laughter for a few moments. "I love you, bro!" Gabriel rolled his eyes at the screen, passing the phone back to Meg; the connection had cut out before she could say anything else, however, which had Castiel wondering about whether the alcohol-induced ramblings had carried on regardless. Both Gabriel and Meg were known to talk a lot once they were well and truly drunk.

He re-pocketed his phone, leaning back against the park bench, balancing his third cup of coffee on top of his textbook, which was sitting patiently at his side. He had spent the majority of his morning in the library, trying to make up for the amount of hours he wasted asleep and trying to deflect the pocket dials he kept getting from the very hungover Gabriel, but, when both of those ventures had ultimately failed, and the library walls seemed to be getting closer and closer together, Castiel had decided that enough was enough and so had left campus to wander up to the nearby playpark and settled himself on the rotting bench, thinking about life and what it all meant, and wondering absentmindedly just _how_ upset his parents would be if - _when_ \- he returned home at the end of the semester having become the first Novak child to fail their way through university. Working in a fast food diner couldn't be that bad, surely? He could cook reasonably well and fairly quickly; maybe that was his destined path after all? A chain of fast food joints spread out across the state? He could call it Novak Nutritions, or something. Providing, of course, that he didn't go bankrupt because he failed his business classes and therefore couldn’t manage his finances.

"Hey! Cas!" He was snapped out of his daydreams by a familiar voice. Dean was strolling towards him, hands stuffed into his pockets. For someone who had been at a college party less than twenty four hours ago, he seemed to be pretty sober. More sober than Gabriel probably was.

"Hello, Dean."

"What'cha doin' out here? Aren't you usually hidin' away in that dusty hole of a library?"

Castiel gave a sigh. "I’m contemplating what will be left of my life when I ultimately fail all my studies." He reached for his plastic cup. "Oh, and I've been drinking coffee. Lots of it."

Dean frowned, moving his roommate's book so that he could sit down. "You know drinkin' too much of that stuff is bad for you, right?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Look at you, you're all stressed out and hyped up on caffeine."

"No, I'm not." Castiel took a long gulp from the cup, ignoring the burn in his throat.

"Yes, you are." Dean managed to prise the drink out of his roommate's fingers. "C'mon. Enough of that stuff, man. You need proper food. When was the last time you ate somethin'?"

"Um..." Castiel thought back. "Lunch time yesterday, I think. I had some grapes."

"Right. Okay." Dean tossed the coffee cup in the nearby garbage can. "C'mon." He got up, extending out a hand.

"What?"

"We're gonna get you some decent food to eat, Cas, before you become decaffeinated and pass out on me or somethin'."

" _We_?"

"Yes, Cas, we." A slight smirk crossed Dean's face. "What, you got an issue about eatin' with me or somethin’?"

"No. It's just, I didn't bring any money -"

"It's on _me_ , dumbass -"

"- and I didn't think you'd really want to spend time with me," he finished quickly.

"Why the hell not? Are you still thinkin' about the assbutt thing?" The Winchester shook his head. "It's water under the bridge, Cas."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, for God's sake!" Dean rolled his eyes, taking the initiative to grab Castiel's hand and haul him off the bench. "Now, let's go; I'm starvin' and you're gonna need somethin' in your stomach when the caffeine crash hits. How do burgers sound?"

"Burgers sound favourable right now," Castiel agreed, grabbing his textbook before it could be left behind as Dean swept him in the opposite direction. "Thank you, Dean."

"Think nothin' of it, dude," Dean replied, sounding a little gruffer than usual. "Just what friends do for friends."

They walked in silence for a little while, save for the gentle sound of breathing and the background noises of children playing on the climbing equipment, Dean leading the way. Castiel noticed that the Winchester didn't drop his grip on his hand for the entire time; was he worried that his roommate was going to try and run away if he let go? Or did he just like holding his hand? That didn't really seem like something Dean would do - or, at least, anything he would _admit_ to - but, if it was, Castiel certainly didn't want to make him uncomfortable, and so he pressed his lips together and said nothing. If he was being completely honest with himself, there was something comforting about having another hand in his. (If only he made a habit of being completely honest with himself; he probably wouldn't drink as much coffee as he did now if he _did_ make it a habit).

Dean eventually dropped the hold on his hand as they made it out of the park gates; he nodded to the old Chevy car parked on the curb. "Here we are. Hop in, Cas."

"Where are we going?"

"There's a diner not too far from here, owned by a couple of family friends. Best burgers in Lawrence, ask anyone." Dean pulled away from the curb, narrowly missing the car that had parked in the space in front of him. "Me and my little brother eat there all the time."

"Sammy," Castiel recalled. Dean looked at him questioningly, and so he quickly explained. "He commented on my videos. _All_ of them."

"He would, wouldn't he?" Dean shook his head with a sigh.

"He's been very kind in his remarks."

"Only because he knows I'll kick his ass if he's a bitch."

Castiel turned from the view out of the window to frown at his roommate. "I hope that you're joking."

"Yes, Cas, I'm kiddin'." They were silent for another moment. "Hey, Cas? If you're strugglin' so much, why d'you take business classes in the first place?"

"I told you, I'm the terrible middle child, Dean. I think my parents wanted to keep me on the right track by making sure that I could help Michael when he takes over the family business; that way I'll be discouraged from a life of alcoholism and drug abuse."

"What would you want to do, then? If it was completely and utterly your choice, what classes would you take?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Philosophy, most probably, or Literature. I've never really thought about what I would do if it were completely my choice, honestly."

"Should always be your choice, Cas," Dean said firmly. "Should always've been your choice."

"What do you do?"

"Mechanics. Always handy when I need to fix Baby up." He patted the dashboard affectionately. "Chevy Impala ‘67. She's a classic."

"She is very lovely," Castiel agreed, leaning back in the passenger seat. "Where did you get her?"

"She was my dad's, once upon a time. He handed her down to me when I got my licence."

"That was nice of him."

"Yeah." Dean didn't sound like he meant that, and unsubtly changed the subject a moment later. "What year you in?"

"First. And you?"

"Third. Sam's in first; he's some kind of child prodigy, so they bumped him up a year early."

"Wow." Castiel nodded. "That's very impressive. What's he studying?"

"Law. He wants to apply to a proper law school after he's graduated."

"That's very admirable. You must be proud of him."

"Yeah. I am." Dean swerved into the diner parking lot, gliding to a stop; he was getting out of the car and opening the passenger door before Castiel, who had been fighting a losing war with the seatbelt, could do it himself.

"Oh." He blinked in surprise. "Thank you."

"No problem, Angel," Dean smirked, winking at him, turning the situation into a joke as usual. He even gave a mock bow as he held the door to the diner open for his roommate, which made Castiel chuckle.

“There’s no need for all that.”

“Just go along with it, Cas.” He led Castiel across the diner, towards the one window booth that Harvelle’s Roadhouse offered, sliding into the seat opposite him.

"Dean!" A shout from the other side of the room made both of them look up at the brunette crossing the floor, heels tapping against the linoleum.

"Ellen," Dean nodded with a smile, as the woman squeezed his shoulder affectionately.

"No Sammy today?" Her eyes lit up with curiosity as she looked Castiel up and down. "Well, Dean? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Ellen, Cas. Cas, Ellen." Dean gestured between the two of them. "Cas here is my roommate."

"Castiel." Castiel held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Castiel." Ellen shook his hand with an approving smile. "Now, what can I get you boys? For you, food's on the house - just this _once_ , mind," she added, glancing at Dean. "Don't you be gettin’ any ideas into that head of yours, Winchester." Dean fixed her with an innocent expression.

"Are you sure?" Castiel asked.

"Positive."

Dean slid a small A5 menu across the table. "Well, then. See anythin' you like, Cas?"

Ellen snorted quietly as the choice of words left his mouth, biting her lip to unsuccessfully muffle the sound.

Dean glanced up at her. "What?"

"Nothin’." Ellen shook her head at the Winchester, mouth still pulled into a smile, before she looked back to Castiel. "What'll it be, then?"

"I'll have a cheese burger," he replied after a moment. "And, um, a soda."

"Sounds good. I'll have the same."

"Comin' right up, boys." She gave Dean's shoulder another squeeze, winking conspiringly at Castiel, before taking their menus and wandering across the diner towards the kitchens.

"She seems nice," Castiel commented.

"Yeah. Scary as hell sometimes, but, yeah, she is. She's been a friend of the family for years. Her kid went to school with us." Dean nodded across the room. "See the blonde over there?" Castiel followed his gaze, stopping on a blonde waitress currently mopping up a spillage left by a small child. "That's Jo." As if sensing that someone was talking about her, Jo suddenly glanced their way, distracted from the juice stain that covered the table. She beamed when she recognised Dean and waved, abandoning her dishcloth in order to join them.

"Hey." She slung an arm around Dean's shoulder as she perched next to him in the booth. "Did Sammy finally get bored of coming to the same diner every week for burgers and pie?" Her eyes flickered to Castiel. "Or...is this a different situation _entirely_?"

"Shut up." Dean gave her a playful nudge, rolling his eyes. "This is Cas."

"Cas? As in your roommate?"

"The very same."

"As in your roommate whom you talk about all the time Cas?"

Castiel blinked. Dean shuffled in his seat. “I don’t talk about him _all_ the time, Jo.”

"Really? Because last time you came in, I sat with you and Sam the entire time, and the only thing you did was talk about Blue Eyes over there." She nodded towards the mortified Castiel, who was fidgeting in his seat. "Hey, you do that vlogging thing, right? What’s it called... _Castiel And Friends_?"

"Yes. Well, I try to."

"Your videos are hilarious." Jo suddenly smirked. "I particularly liked the assbutt one. That was entertaining."

“Everybody seems to like the assbutt video. I can’t understand why, though.”

“Because I’m in it,” Dean cut in. “Obviously.”

“Well, aren’t you a modest one?” Jo snorted.

"I'm not payin’ you to sit around and chat." Ellen had rematerialised with a tray of food and gave her daughter a nudge, rolling her eyes. "Table fourteen needs their fries at some point today, Jo."

Jo sighed melodramatically, clapping Dean on the back. "Duty calls. Later, Winchester." She smiled across the table. "Nice to meet you, Cas." She leaned closer to Dean. "He's a keeper," she whispered not-so-subtly in his ear.

"Jo!" The tips of Dean's ears flushed slightly at her words; the girl only laughed at his discomfort, sidling back across the room before the Winchester could say anything else. Castiel nodded a thank you to Ellen, reaching for his glass of soda and taking a sip.

"I like her," he commented after a moment. "Jo. She's sweet."

"Yeah. She's like the kid sister I never had." He took a bite out of his burger, grinning as he relished the taste. "Mm. Best burgers in Lawrence. Hands down. You got any sisters, Cas?"

"Just three brothers. Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer."

"Lucifer?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "Sheesh. Bit of an unfortunate name, isn't it?"

"My parents are very religious. They wanted our names to reflect that. To be honest, Lucifer suits him pretty well; _he's_ the younger brother that takes after Gabriel." He chewed his cheeseburger experimentally. "You were right about the food. It's delicious."

They sat and ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, before Dean spoke again.

“How’s that Internet thing goin' now?”

Castiel sighed in response, reaching into the pocket of his trenchcoat and bringing out the camera, placing it on the table. “How do you think it’s going, Dean?”

“Did you seriously bring that thing with you? Is it surgically attached to you or somethin’?”

"Always need to be prepared. Hey, would you mind if I filmed something now?...I'll be quick, I promise." He added, noticing Dean's expression. The Winchester gave an extravagant sigh.

"Alright. Since you asked so nicely, Angel."

"Thank you." He switched the camera on, propping his elbows up on the table and getting Dean in the centre of the frame. "So, Dean."

"So, Cas."

"What do you think going to college is all about?"

Dean reached into the straw dispenser, dropping a paper straw into his glass and using it to stir the soda. "College is...misleadin'," he said, after a moment of reflection. "They say that it's tryin' to prepare you for everythin' in the real world, but that's the thing - you can't be prepared for everythin', Cas. If you were always anticipatin' everythin' that happened, where would all the fun come from?"

"Don't they say that it's always better to try and be prepared, though?"

"And then what happens to unexpected surprises, Cas? Life would be dull without unexpected surprises. There would be nothin' to look forward to."

Castiel gave a shrug. "To be honest, I don't think I'm very good with surprises."

"Really?" Dean smirked suddenly. "Well, we gotta do somethin' about that, haven't we?"

"We do?" Castiel frowned, head tilted to the side. "What would that be?"

"When you’ve munched up the rest of that burger, Cas, I'm goin' to take you somewhere."

"Where?"

Dean grinned. "Wouldn't be an unexpected surprise if I told you, would it, Angel?"


	8. Humble Abode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel and Dean reminisce over past events and look towards the future.

"Where are we going?" Castiel asked for what must have been the twentieth time. Dean shook his head, grinning.

"Sheesh, you weren't kiddin' when you said you weren't good with surprises, huh?"

"Usually, a surprise means that Gabriel has put custard in my shoes or filled my bed with itching powder or something of the like. Over the years I've learnt to become wary whenever someone says the word  _surprise_."

"Your brother's an ass, Cas," Dean replied. "No, wait, more than that, your brother's an _assbutt_."

Castiel smirked. "Yes. He is."

"Has he always been like that?"

"As long as I can remember." Castiel briefly thought back on the countless memories of Gabriel's childhood pranks. "It isn't all bad though. Not all the time. On rare days that coincide with a blue moon, he shows that he cares. I can remember one day, back when I was in Kindergarten, we were all supposed to dress up and I came to school in a bee costume. Don’t laugh!” He pulled a face as Dean chuckled at the mental image of five year old Castiel in a stripy bee costume. “That costume was my most prized possession at the time! Anyway, a boy in Gabriel's grade, Uriel, started making fun of me, and when Gabriel found out he punched him on the nose. He very nearly got thrown out for it, I think, but he didn't seem to care. He took me over to one of the other children in my grade and asked them to look after me. Samandriel and I have been friends ever since."

"Can't imagine you as a kid in Kindergarten," Dean commented. "All stony-faced and uptight."

"I'm not _that_ uptight!" Castiel protested.

"You really kind of are," Dean corrected. "But it's okay. S'just one of your many quirks. I kinda like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, c'mon, who else would go round cleanin' up after me?"

"Assbutt."

Dean shrugged, smirking. "You're only sayin' that because you know it's true."

Castiel tried not to smile. "I hate you sometimes."

"No, you don't."

Castiel glanced at him for a moment, unable to hide his expression. "You're right."

"I know I am."

"Hey, I'm trying to say something nice. Don't interrupt me with your lack of modesty, Dean Winchester, or I might just change my mind."

Dean grinned, unabashed. "Sorry. Carry on, Cas. I'm all ears."

"I was going to say that I don't hate you. Not really."

"I don't hate you either, Angel. Not at all."

"Oh, yes? Even though I'm stony-faced and uptight?" Castiel smirked.

"Yeah. Even though you're stony-faced and uptight," Dean repeated, returning the smile. He stamped on the break suddenly, sending the car to a sudden stop. His passenger glanced out of the window at the house they had pulled up outside. "Here we are. Surprise."

Castiel frowned, looking perplexed. "What are we doing here? Dean?" Dean had gotten out of the car and was walking up the front path towards the front door. "Dean!" Castiel got out himself and hurried after his friend. "What are you _doing_? We can't just break in to someone's house!"

Dean snorted, fumbling in his jacket pocket for something. "It's not breakin' in when you've got a key, dumbass."

Castiel blinked for a few moments. "Is this...? This is your house?"

"Yup. Ta da." Dean unlocked the door and pushed it open. "After you, Cas. Welcome to the humble Winchester abode."

"It's so...quiet," Castiel commented, following the narrow hallway into the kitchen. He had been expecting any house of Dean's to be bright and loud, filled with sound and laughter; this house seemed too bland, too echoey and too silent for his liking. It felt wrong.

"That's because it's empty."

"Oh. Are your family away?"

"Something like that," Dean replied bluntly, before, again, changing the subject. "Sorry I can't offer you anythin'. Looks like Dad hasn't been around in the last few weeks." He opened the refrigerator, wrinkling his nose. "We've got some milk that 'bout a week past its sell-by date if you really want something to drink."

"I think I'll pass on that one, if that's alright, Dean."

"Good call." Dean rescued the milk container from the shelf and dumped it into the trash can by the door. "C'mon. Somethin' I wanna show you." He unlocked the back door, laying a hand on Castiel's shoulder and steering him out into the small back garden that was overcome with weeds, nodding towards the tree that towered above the ground, its branches wild and unkempt after being left for so many years.

"You wanted to show me a tree?"

"S'not just a tree, Cas." Dean smiled, giving the tree trunk an affectionate pat. "It's what me and Sammy used to call The Sanctuary. Whenever stuff got real bad, we'd climb up in the tree with a couple of beers to take our minds off things."

"Ah." Cas nodded. "I understand. I used to hide in my wardrobe when I wanted to be alone. Eventually Gabriel found out, and I never found a hiding place quite like it again."

"Well, now I've found you another one, after all these years." Dean pulled himself up onto the highest branch that he could reach and then held out a hand to help Castiel up too. "Nice place to sit and figure things out. I've always hated flyin' and heights and stuff, but here just feels...I don't know...safe?"

Castiel let his feet dangle over the edge of the branch. "It’s true. I like it."

Dean nodded in satisfaction. "Thought you would."

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

Castiel paused for a moment. "I know it's none of my business, and you don't have to answer this, if you don't want to, but...you always seem...agitated, whenever I mention your parents. May I ask why?"

Dean was silent for a long time, long enough for Castiel to assume that he wasn't going to answer at all. He was almost about to move on to another topic of conversation when Dean spoke.

"Mom died," he said suddenly. "When I was four."

"I'm sorry."

"It's - well, no, it's _not_ okay, that's just bullshit people say in these situations, but y'know what I mean. It happened a long time ago, and I don't really like talkin' about it. Anyway, Dad went a little crazy after she died. Started wanderin' off at night, disappearin' for weeks on end without sayin' anythin'. Whenever that happened we went to stay with this guy named Chuck who lived in the neighbourhood - he was a writer or somethin’, I think - but I was mainly the one who watched after Sammy, ever since he was a kid." Dean suddenly sucked in a breath, as if he’d slipped and let himself say too much. "I don't usually do the whole back story thing." He raised an eyebrow. "Then again, that always seems to go to hell when I start talkin' to you, Cas."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Not entirely sure yet. I'll get back to you on that one. But, since I've shared my humble life story, what 'bout you, Cas? Where you from?"

"I was born in Illinois," Castiel replied. "We lived next door to our cousins on my mother’s side; I seem to recall that they had a lot of plants in their front yard, all different colours. We moved here to Kansas when I was three, just before my brother Lucifer was born. I lived at home with my parents and my brothers until I applied to the university here in Lawrence. That's really all there is. My life has been pretty average so far."

"Average ain't exactly a bad thing."

"It is when you're lonely. I was teased a lot up until high school; I didn't have many friends besides Gabriel after Samandriel moved to Texas, and I'm not sure that my brother really counts as a friend." He shrugged, mouth pulled into a half smile. "To be honest, I think Meg is the only thing stopping any kind of teasing now. No one wants to get on the wrong side of Meg."

"That's what friends are for," Dean agreed, more cheerful this time. "Well, Cas, enough of the chick-flick moments for one day, I think. Can I ask you another question?"

"As long as it's not about sex, of course."

"What do you want to do when you grow up?"

Castiel snorted. "Aren't we supposed to be grown up already, Dean?"

"We're older, Cas. Gettin' older is a biological thing. Growin' up is _our_ choice." He grinned. "So, Cas, what do you wanna do when you grow up? I want to be a superhero myself."

Castiel chuckled. "I think I want to write stories." He shook his head. "Not exactly on par with a superhero, I know."

"No less awesome, though," Dean replied, nudging their shoulders together.

And, with a smile and a nod, Castiel had to agree with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I did not mean for this to get so cheesy! I hope that you enjoyed this anyway...We're almost at the halfway point!


	9. Pre-Celebration Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's found himself a new girlfriend, but Gabriel and Meg can't believe that Castiel doesn't see what's REALLY going on here...

"Cassie!" Gabriel enveloped his brother in a warm hug as the younger Novak emerged from the lecture hall. "How was it?"

Castiel let out a sigh, adjusting his trenchcoat against the crisp November breeze. "Painful."

Meg shook her head. "Stop that crap right now. I bet - no, I _know_ \- you've done fine, Clarence. You're the smart one, remember?"

"You weren't sitting in that room and staring at that paper," Castiel grumbled.

"It's only a midterm, Cassie," Gabriel declared breezily, casually slinging an arm around his brother. "It's not like it's a final, right? Oh, come on, don't look at me like that! Besides, it's over now. Don't think about it anymore. Not when you've got tonight to look forward to."

"I have?" Castiel frowned. "Why is that?"

"It's Friday," Gabriel replied, as if this single fact should provide all the answers.

"Is this supposed to be significant?"

"And you know what that means!"

"I do?"

"Cassie!" Gabriel threw his free hand up in the air. "It's Friday night, and that means it's discount night at the student bar!"

Castiel let out a groan. "Gabriel -"

"Uh uh!" The elder Novak cut him off. "You promised! At Halloween, you _promised_!"

Oh crap. He _had_ , hadn't he?

"Gabriel, it's been a long day -"

"Which is exactly why you need to relieve yourself of all this stress, Cassie! C'mon - you, me, Meg, Balthazar, it'll be great! You haven't had a night out in ages!"

"Face it, Clarence," Meg chimed in with a snicker. "You're not going to get out of this, so you might as well just say yes now and save yourself some time."

"Fine. But I _refuse_ to make a habit out of this -"

"Great!" Gabriel declared, probably not paying attention to anything his brother had said past the word _Fine_. "Let's get going then!"

Castiel fixed his brother with a look. "Right now? This very instant?"

"Excuse me?" Meg said simultaneously, whacking Gabriel on the back of the head. "You think I'm going out to the bar dressed like _this_?" She gestured to her faded shirt and jeans.

"Someone's fussy."

"Oh, I'm sorry for wanting to look nice!"

"She's right." Castiel looked to his brother. "I too need a shower before I do anything else."

Gabriel sighed, looking disgruntled. "Fine. But, as soon as we're ready, we're off, agreed?"

"No arguments from me on that part," Meg smirked. "It's Clarence that we'll have to drag kicking and screaming."

"Don't give him any ideas, Meg, please." Gabriel unhooked his arm from his brother's shoulder to push the door in front of them open; Castiel felt himself relax now that they were in the warm, brightly lit hallway of the dorms, a stark contrast to the wintry air outside.

"Don't be so opposed to fun, Cassie."

"Being dragged anywhere kicking and screaming - certainly by _you_ , Gabriel - is not my idea of _fun_."

"I guess that we'll have to agree to disagree on our concepts of enjoyment, then, little bro."

"Not unless Dean's the one dragging him kicking and screaming," Meg mumbled, loud enough for the two brothers to hear. Castiel turned to look at her, eyes narrowed.

"What makes you say that?"

"I saw the burger date video, Clarence. That was certainly interesting." Her voice took on an imitation of Dean's tone. " _I wanna take you somewhere when you're done eatin' that burger... **Angel**._ " She wiggled her eyebrows in Castiel's direction, whilst Gabriel snickered.

The younger Novak rolled his eyes at her portrayal. "It wasn't a date. We're just friends."

"Clearly," Meg replied, her voice layered with implications. Castiel was about to ask what exactly she meant by the cryptic remark as they rounded the corner, only to find Dean himself leaning up against the door frame, talking to a girl in the hallway.

"Hey, Cas!" His attention shifted when he noticed his roommate heading towards him. "I was waitin' for you."

Castiel frowned. "You were?"

"Yeah; Wanted to ask about how the big test went."

"Awful." He couldn't keep the glum tone out of his voice.

"Nah, c'mon, it can't be that bad,” Dean said firmly, as if this thought wouldn’t even be entertained. “You're a freakin' genius, Cas."

"That's very kind of you to say, Dean, but unfortunately, that's not true."

The girl smiled at him. "You're the vlogging guy, right? Dean was telling me about you earlier."

"Castiel." He gave a small wave. "Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Dean smiled, snaking an arm around the girl's middle and drawing her in closer. "This is Cassie."

The sound of stifled cackles of laughter suddenly came from behind them; Castiel, Dean and Cassie glanced behind them at the source of the noise. Gabriel and Meg were sagged against the wall, clutching at each other, hands over their mouths to muffle the shrieks threatening to escape their lips. Meg's eyes were watering with the effort of holding the sound in, her cheeks flushed red.

Cassie's brow pinched. "What's up with them?"

"Just ignore Gabriel, babe." Dean's gaze met Cas'. "He's an assbutt." Gabriel and Meg let out more muted cries, Meg slapping Gabriel's arm in an attempt to remain quiet. Dean was frowning at this point, as was Castiel, but he simply shrugged after a moment, seemingly choosing to pass it off as just a quirk of being around his roommate's friends, nodding to Cassie. "Anyway, we're goin'. Just wanted to ask how it went." He patted Castiel on the shoulder as they moved past. "See you, buddy."

"Goodbye, Dean," Castiel called in reply, slipping into his room now that the doorway wasn't blocked. As soon as they were out of earshot, Meg and Gabriel simultaneously fell into the room, howling with laughter, still gripping each other for support.

"She - Cas - Cassie...!" Was all Meg could gasp out, tears spilling over her cheeks.

Castiel frowned at them in bewilderment. "Is there something funny that I should know about?"

"No...No, nothing," Gabriel managed to say. "Nothing at all... _Cassie_." The name set them off again, louder this time.

"Really? Is that all? The fact that we share a nickname?"

Gabriel couldn't reply for a few moments; he dragged a hand across his eyes to dry them.

"Bit of a coincidence," he said finally, when he was able to speak again.

"Lots of people on campus have names that can be shortened to Cassie."

"No, I mean, it's a bit of a coincidence that the pair of you go on a little burger date and then, less than a month later, he's found himself a girl called _Cassie_."

"It _wasn't_ a _date_!"

"He took you out to a diner, Clarence," Meg cut in. "Just you and him. And he let you stick that stupid camera in his face."

"We're just friends!"

"Whatever you say, little brother," Gabriel smirked. "Just know that yours and Deano's oblivion is amusing to us."

"Oh, no." Meg pushed a wayward strand of hair from her face. "I think Dean's well aware of what he's doing, he just doesn't want to admit to it." She smiled. "You were right about the oblivion in this one, though." She leaned over and ruffled Castiel's hair, despite his protests. "Well, I'm off to get ready, Clarence. Enjoy your brotherly bonding time whilst I'm gone."

"She's right," Gabriel agreed. "Get your ass in the shower, little bro. More time here means less time celebrating. Here." He rummaged through the drawers and pulled out the first shirt and pair of pants he came across. "Since you _insist_ on dressing like some kind of tax accountant, we'll just have to work with it."

"Holy tax accountant," Castiel recalled, feeling his mouth twitch into a smile.

"Unbelievable." Gabriel shook his head. "You're even starting to _sound_ like him, and yet you _still_...Good God, this is going to be painful. What am I going to do with you, Cassie - or should that just be _Cas_ , now? You know, to avoid confusion, so people who aren’t in the know don't start thinking that _you're_ the one who’s Dean's boyfriend, or anything -"

" _Gabriel!_ " Castiel yanked his clean clothes out of his hands, slamming the bathroom door for good measure to muffle his brother's hyena chuckles. He tried to take an extra long time to shower and change after that, ignoring Gabriel's hammering on the bathroom door and threats to break the lock if his little brother didn't get a move on.

Meg had rejoined them by the time that Castiel eventually emerged from the bathroom, having swapped her shirt and jeans for a dress and tights (black, of course). She rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, look who didn't actually drown in the shower. I thought Gabriel was going to have to break the door down and rescue you."

"Funny." Castiel ran a hand through his damp hair, glancing at his brother. "Aren't you going to change, Gabriel?"

“Are you saying that I don't look fabulous enough already?" Gabriel fixed the collar on his shirt. "I'm hurt by that remark, Cas."

"Castiel. My name is _Castiel_ ; I thought, being my brother, you would know that by now."

"I don't recall _Dean_ being corrected when we saw him in the hallway." Meg and Gabriel shared a glance.

"I've given up on Dean ever using my full name," Castiel replied firmly. "Now, are we going, or not? Because, if not, I'd like to return to my desk -"

"Oh, no, you don't! You are not wriggling out of this one, _Castiel_!" Gabriel locked his arm around his brother and dragged him out of the room (not quite kicking and screaming, but close enough).

"Gabriel!"

"Stop whining, little bro! The night's only just beginning!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Dean. Oh, Castiel. How oblivious the pair of you are.


	10. Happy Hour On The Lawrence Campus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel's "fun" night out at the bar ends somewhat different to what he expected.

"Isn't this great?" Gabriel yelled above the pounding music.

"Hm." Was all Castiel could muster in reply as he took a minuscule sip of his beer. Whilst he had managed to make one bottle of drink last at least two and a half hours, Gabriel was downing what Castiel was sure was his seventh beer and he didn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.

"What're you looking so miserable about, little bro?" Gabriel flung an arm around him, hugging the younger Novak close to his side. "The night is still young and so are we! Let's drink to that!"

"Amen!" Balthazar agreed loudly, circling an arm around Meg, who was sitting next to him, slightly more sober (but only slightly). "How about you, cutie?" Meg let out a huff, wrinkling her nose up. "Keep dreaming, creep. I'm think I’m gonna go find my own "cutie" -" She made air quotations around the adjective with a scowl "- one that _isn’t_ you, thank you very much." She shoved his arm away and stalked off towards the large crowd of dancing students, grabbing the nearest boy she recognised by the back of his shirt and dragging him into her personal space.

"What 'bout you, Castiel?" Gabriel drained the last of his beer and dumped the empty bottle on the counter, gesturing to the bartender for another one. "Fancy a dance?"

"Not particularly, thank you."

"For Gods sake, lighten _up!_ " Gabriel rolled his eyes, grinning drunkenly. "Well, _I'm_ gonna go dancing; I'll meet you out there when you stop being such a grumpy guts!" He sauntered off, drawn towards the thumping beat emitting from the speakers, leaving Castiel sitting alone at the bar with a miserable expression on his face. He never asked to be here. He didn't _want_ to be here. He would have much rather been sitting in the big tree overshadowing the Winchesters' back garden with Dean by his side. They had been back twice since the day of the infamous "burger date" (as Meg and Gabriel called it), Dean making sure that they now bought refreshments with them; they'd perched in the branches of the tree for hours, sharing pie from the nearby grocery store, talking about everything and nothing as Dean tried to get Castiel's mind off the dreaded midterm that had loomed ahead of him.

"You stoned or somethin'?"

"Hm?" Castiel was snapped from his daydream, turning to glance at the bartender, who was raising an eyebrow.

"You've been smiling into that bottle of beer for the past five minutes. That Gabriel guy slip you something or what?" Castiel shifted, looking mortified at being asked such a question.

"Leave him alone, Gordon," another voice interrupted, its owner sliding into the seat beside the younger Novak, smiling apologetically. "Sorry about him." Gordon let out a huff, wordlessly pouring the stranger two glasses of shandy, placing them on the counter with a scowl.

"It's alright." Castiel took another tiny drop of his drink, trying not to shudder at the bitter taste left in his throat. "Thank you."

"No worries. It's Cas, right? Oh, no, wait, sorry -" The stranger held up his hands "- _Castiel_. I forgot you don't usually like being called Cas."

Castiel frowned. "How did you know that? Do we know each other?"

"Not officially." One of the stranger's hands extended towards him. "I'm Sam."

Castiel blinked. "Sam? As in Sam Winchester? Dean's younger brother?"

"I see you've heard of me then." Sam let out a laugh.

"Dean talks about you a lot," Castiel replied with a smile.

"Dude, speaking of him, I kinda feel like I have to apologise on my brother's behalf. Y'know, for all the stupid shit he's done. You were right to call him an assbutt."

"I didn't exactly _feel_ right afterwards."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Castiel." Sam gave him a carefree smile. "Dean's probably forgotten all about it, to be honest. He talks about you a lot too. Practically all the time, actually." He nodded across the bar; Castiel followed his gaze, his blue eyes coming to rest on the elder Winchester in the middle of the dancing crowd, his arms looped around Cassie, whispering something in her ear. For some reason, the sight of his roommate didn't improve Castiel's dull mood, even though he had been wishing to see Dean moments earlier; if anything, it made him feel worse.

Sam seemed to cotton on to this, because he clapped the younger Novak on the shoulder, startling him a little. "Hey, I know you're probably here with friends and everything, but I couldn't tempt you back to our table, could I? It's just my girlfriend is waiting for a drink, and I know that she wants to meet you..."

"Sure," Castiel replied after less than a minute of consideration, giving a light shrug. It wasn't like he was doing anything else, after all.

"Awesome." Sam scooped up the two drinks from the bar; Castiel made a point to leave his half-drunken bottle of beer behind him on the counter as he followed the younger Winchester across the bar, ignoring the small clusters of students that had taken to dancing on the tabletops and trying to avoid the couples making out on top of bar stools.

"Jess!" Sam came to a sudden stop beside a table and beamed at the pretty blonde sitting there, passing her one of the glasses. "Look who I found wandering around." He gestured for the Novak to sit. "This is Castiel."

"Hi." Jess smiled at him, shaking his outstretched hand. "I've heard all about you. Dean's not exactly shy when it comes to talking about you."

"I dread to think what you must have heard then." Castiel raised an eyebrow.

"Only good things, don't worry," Jess replied with a reassuring laugh, just before they were interrupted.

"Samsquatch!" Gabriel had managed to stagger his way over to the table and had thrown his arm around Sam's neck. "You takin' good care of my little brother?"

"He's in safe hands, Gabe, don't you worry."

Castiel glanced between the two of them, looking surprised. "You know each other?"

"Duh!" Gabriel rolled his eyes at his brother's lack of information about his social life. "I'm the honorary president of the Dramatic Arts society here on campus, isn't that right, Jess? Sammy usually hangs around our meetings, and so I thought it would be in everybody's best interests if I introduced myself."

"Gabriel's a very _unique_ addition to the team," Jess agreed politely.

"Damn right I am!" Gabriel beamed at the collective party around him, before he clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Hey, Sammy, how's that law thing goin'?"

Castiel's eyes travelled back across the room as Sam tried best to explain to the drunken Gabriel how his lectures were going; once again, his gaze landed on Dean and Cassie, much to his distaste. He was trying to _avoid_ looking at them. Were his eyes magnetised to Dean or something?

"He really likes you."

Castiel tore his eyes away to look at Jess. "What?"

"Dean." She nodded towards the elder Winchester and his newest girlfriend. "I was just saying that he really likes you. I mean, he doesn't exactly make deep relationships very often - as I'm sure you've noticed - but he's really grown to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. God, it's never ending; it's _Cas did this_ or  _Cas said that_ or  _Hey, isn't that a coincidence, lets talk about Cas now_." She let out a chuckle, before reaching out and tentatively laying a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "I understand how you feel right now."

"You do?"

"Sure. I've had plenty of crushes before, Castiel; it's not a new thing. You’re not alone in this."

"Cru - What are you talking about?"

Her brow pinched. "I just thought - You and Dean -"

"Hey!" Gabriel interrupted again, leaning over his younger brother's shoulder. "C'mon, Cassie, let's go dance!"

"Oh, no -"

"Oh, yes!"

"I really don't think -" He was cut off as Gabriel dropped his grip on Sam and hauled him to his feet. "No, Gabriel -!" He was steered across the room, shoved directly into the mesh of people, colliding with several other students in the process.

"Dance, little bro!" Gabriel grabbed him by the waist and lifted him over his shoulders and into the air, jumping up and down in time to the music as he did so; Castiel was sure that he felt his brain knocking against the sides of his skull as the bright swirls of neon lights that decorated the room started to swim before his eyes, blinding him.

" _Gabriel!_ " He yelled, barely audible above the volume of the music.

"Get off him, Gabe!" Sam's voice echoed from somewhere close by.

"Numbskull!" Meg's voice added sourly for good measure. The world spun, teetering dangerously as Castiel was placed back on his feet. He stumbled, tripping over his own shoelaces; Sam gripped his shoulder, keeping him upright.

"Whoa. You okay there, Castiel?"

"Fine," he lied weakly, the sound lost somewhere amongst the droning guitar chords. He raised his voice when Sam indicated that he hadn't heard him. "I need some air." He wriggled out of Sam's grip, turning on his heel, struggling to get through the mass of other intoxicated students, breaking out into a run when he was eventually clear of them.

"Hey!" Gabriel protested. "Cassie! You can't leave now; it's barely after nine thirty!"

"Clarence!" Meg yelled after him, but he didn't respond, or even acknowledge that he'd heard her. He sighed in relief once he made it out of the bar and into the cool night air, shrugging his trenchcoat from his shoulders as he did so and tucking it under his arm.

"Castiel! Wait up!" He glanced over his shoulder to see Jess coming to a standstill in the doorway, her face lined with worry, with Sam only a few steps behind her. "Are you alright? You looked pretty overwhelmed in there."

"I'm fine now," Castiel replied, touched by her concern. He tried for a smile. "Don't worry about me."

Her blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, as if she didn't quite believe him somehow, but she chose not to press him on it. "Are you going back to your room?"

"I think I need a long sleep."

"Okay. You know I'm always here to talk, yeah? If you need anything?"

"I know. Thank you." Castiel gave her a small wave of gratitude, before turning away from the bar and heading back towards the campus residence halls. Once he was back in the comfort of his own room, he slid back down into his desk chair, leaning back against the soft material of the padding. After a moment or too of simply resting, he leaned over to the camera, which was sitting patiently on its makeshift textbook tripod.

"Hello, Internet," he greeted when the red light appeared, giving the camera a small wave. "I'm not usually one for filming this late, but, well, I couldn't think of anything else to do. Gabriel tried to coerce me into going drinking with him at the student bar tonight, but all that really accomplished was getting him drunk and giving me a headache when he threw me through the air like a balloon." He let out a sigh. "He's been teasing me all evening about Dean's new girlfriend; she's called Cassie, so, since that's my nickname, Gabriel's now convinced that Dean has some secret crush on me that he can't admit to or something." He snorted at his own words. "Which is completely ridiculous. Right? Right." He nodded to punctuate the rhetorical question. "Gabriel just loves to make fun of things. That's all there is to it. Although, that being said, I really could do without it right now, especially when I'm pretty certain I failed my midterm only a few hours ago." He paused. "I think I'm going to curl up in bed and sleep for the next week or so in order to forget all about it. See you all at Thanksgiving, I suppose." He switched the camera off, massaging his temples as he watched the video appear on screen and then disappear again into the extensive Internet database, before climbing into bed, still fully clothed, leaning back against the headboard.

He couldn't exactly remember at what point he dropped off to sleep, but, before he realised what was happening, he had slid further down the bed, the light was switched off, and he had been awoken by a heavy lump sprawled on top of him.

"What -?” It only took him a few seconds to recognise what - or rather, who - had awoken him. “Dean?"

"Hmm..." The Winchester burrowed his face deeper into the crook of Castiel's neck. "Pipe down, Angel."

"Dean, what the hell are you - ? Are you drunk?"

" _Maaaaybe_." The word came out slurred and mumbled.

"Okay." Castiel lay there helplessly for a few moments; Dean was heavy enough to leave him immobile. "Well, I want to go back to sleep now, so -"

"Super. Me too." Dean curled an arm around him. "G'night, then, Huggy Bear."

"Huggy _what?_ Dean, get off me!" Castiel got no reply; Dean was already snoring lightly, nose sandwiched against his skin, his breath tickling his neck. He didn't look like he was going to be waking up sober any time soon, leaving his roommate effectively pinned to his own bed.

It looked like Castiel would just have to make the best of this. He was too tired to argue anymore anyway.

“Goodnight, then, Dean," he mumbled, his eyes staring at the dark ceiling above him as he wondered what on earth he had done to get himself in this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway point, folks! :D


	11. Interruptions Of The Crowley Variety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley just can't let this situation go.

It was warm when Castiel's eyes opened again.

His muscles were stiff and sore from remaining in the same position for so long and he winced at the ache when he tried to move them. The Dean-shaped lump was still sprawled on top of him, face tucked securely into his neck, his soft breathing warming the patch of skin, still hugging his roommate in his tight grip. At some point during the night, Castiel had wrapped an arm around Dean's shoulders, his nose had become buried in dark blonde hair, and their legs had become intertwined together; he felt a smile cross his face as he closed his eyes and relaxed again. Of course, Dean was going to start freaking out the moment he woke up sober and remembered what had happened - speaking of which, freaking out was really what Castiel _should_ have been doing right now, but he couldn't deny the comforting feeling of having someone's arms around him as he slept. It was a warm, safe feeling that he hadn't really felt before. Now he knew why people liked it so much.

"Well, well, well. If this isn't the most sickeningly sweet thing I've ever seen."

Castiel's eyes snapped open again almost instantly, searching for the source of the horribly familiar voice. Crowley was perched on Dean's unoccupied bed, arms folded, watching the two students with an amused expression on his face.

"What are you doing here, Crowley?" Was all Castiel could muster after a few seconds of staring at the lecturer in stunned silence.

"I came up here to see why you haven't been coming to any of my lectures in the past few weeks." Crowley's lips curled into a smirk. "Now I can see why that is."

"Wh - No!" Castiel protested. "This isn't - We're not - This isn't what it looks like!"

"Clearly." Crowley looked meaningfully at the arm wrapped tenderly around the Winchester. Castiel moved it immediately, his skin suddenly cold without Dean's body heat to warm it.

"I was asleep; I couldn't have known -!"

"Of _course_ not," Crowley replied mockingly.

"Just help me move him, would you? Otherwise I could be stuck here until the middle of the afternoon."

The lecturer let out a sigh. "The things I do for you students. People will start to think I've gone soft on you, darling." He rose from his seat and hauled Dean off Castiel, throwing him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty."

"Don't wake him!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Crowley, rather unceremoniously, dropped the still-sleeping Dean onto his own bed. "I'll leave the whole True Loves Kiss malarkey to you, shall I?"

Castiel shook his head, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and kicking off his shoes. "Was there actually anything important that you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, no. I think seeing you and Princess Squirrel sleeping together just about cleared up all my questions."

"Crowley..."

"The pair of you really are quite sweet, actually, Castiel, as much as it pains me to admit it. There may have even been a smile on my face when I found you. I felt the need to preserve the moment." He reached into his pocket and removed his phone, showing Castiel the image on the screen. The student let out a sharp exhale.

"Delete that, Crowley. Now."

"Why should I do that?" The lecturer yanked the phone out of his reach. "Will Squirrel not appreciate it going viral?"

Castiel narrowed his eyes dangerously; Crowley burst out laughing, the sound loud enough to make Dean start to stir on the bed next to them. "Don't use your angry eyes on me, Angel. They won't work." Dean made a noise to signify that he had woken up, lifting his head off the pillow to squint at the two others in the room.

"Oh _joy_." Crowley's voice was laced with sarcasm. "Squirrel's back with us."

Dean fired a foul glare at him. "What'cha doin' here? This ain't no place for the King of Hell."

"Not that it's any of _your_ business, Winchester, but I was just here to discuss matters with Castiel." Crowley smirked again as Dean heaved himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his forehead to try and rid himself of the hangover. "So, how did you sleep last night, Princess? I know for a fact that Castiel slept _very_ well." Castiel felt his cheeks start to flush at the remark. Dean didn't seem to notice in his current state of mind, merely raising an eyebrow.

"What, you get some last night or somethin', Cas?"

"Oh, he got _something_ , alright, that's for certain," Crowley snorted. Castiel burrowed his face into his palms, letting out a low groan.

"What's it got to do with you?"

"Lets just say, I was in the right place at the right time, Squirrel."

" _Please_ , Crowley. Enough now."

"What's the matter there? You're looking a little shifty this morning, Cas."

" _Castiel_ ," Dean and Castiel corrected simultaneously.

"Oh, my. Is there an echo in here?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear you dragging out the fancy full name a moment ago. You've suddenly changed your tune, Winchester."

Dean folded his arms, looking as defiant as he could with a hangover. "Cas is my name for him. Only I'm allowed to call him that."

"Only because I gave up on you ever learning my full name."

“Is that right?” There was a hint of a smirk across Dean’s face. “Does that make me special, then, Angel?”

Crowley made an elaborate gagging pantomime. "My, my, darlings, there's so much unresolved sexual tension in here, I could melt into a puddle on the floor. Or maybe I could just find someone to curl up with." He grinned wolfishly at Castiel, who glared back. Dean was about to rebuff the remarks, when there was a gentle tap on the door, silencing them.

"Thank goodness for that," Castiel mumbled, leaping up from his seat. Anything to keep this conversation from continuing.

"Don't let me keep you or anything," Crowley commented snarkily. Castiel rolled his eyes, opening the door, only to find Sam and Jess standing outside.

"Hello, Sam, Jess."

"Hey, Castiel." The younger Winchester beamed at him. "Has Dean recovered from last night yet?"

"Sammy!" Dean was grinning as he stumbled towards the door, gesturing for his little brother and his girlfriend to enter the room. "How you holdin' up?"

"Better than you, clearly." Sam snorted. "We're just here to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Dean frowned. "Where the hell are you goin'?"

His brother blinked. "It's Thanksgiving next week, Dean. Remember? I'm spending the holidays with Jess and her folks."

"Oh, yeah." The elder Winchester gave a half shrug. "Kinda forgot about that. Can’t actually remember all that much right now."

"Are you sure that you don't want to come too?" Jess insisted. "I mean, I know you said no the last time I asked because you felt like the third wheel, but you're honestly not! My parents really like you. They'd be more than happy to have both of you stay."

"That's real nice of you, Jessica, but I'm good. You don't really want me hangin' around your place at Thanksgivin'."

"But, what will you do? I don't want you to be alone for the holidays." Jess' face was suddenly clouded with worry.

"Have you heard from Dad?" Sam asked, the words seemingly coming out in a rush; Castiel suspected that he had been holding them in for a while. 

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "I believe I'm sensing some issues here."

"Nobody asked _you_ , Crowley," Dean scowled. "What do you think, Sammy? 'Course I haven't heard from him. Haven't heard a word from him in months. I'm gonna go spend the holidays with Cassie at her mom's place - I may even get lucky, ain't that right, Cas?" Dean winked.

Castiel let out a "Hm", not wanting anyone to notice his sudden discomfort at the idea of Dean's Thanksgiving plans. Jess, however, seemed to pick up on his emotions, as she laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly.

"Alright. If you're absolutely sure, Dean."

"Positive, Jess. Go on. You have your fun. Don't do anythin' I wouldn't do." He grinned at Sam. The younger Winchester rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Jerk."

"Get outta here, Bitch. Don't crash into a tree or anythin'."

Castiel waited until the brothers had finished their exchange of "Bitch" and "Jerk", Sam having to be hauled away by an exasperated Jessica, before he turned to Dean. "When are you leaving?"

"Huh?" Dean frowned for a second, before snorting. "Oh. No. Cassie and I aren't a thing anymore. I only said that so Sammy wouldn't bitch. I didn't really fancy spendin' my Thankgivin' watchin' those two make googly eyes at each other. Besides, last time I went over there with them, I kinda broke one of her dad's antique flower pots when I parked Baby. I don't think her folks ever quite forgave me for that."

"What will you do, then?"

"I don't know. Maybe go hang out at Bobby's or somethin', but then, the King of Hell now lives there too, so I don’t think I’ll stick around for long. What? What’s that face for?"

"Nothing. Just...are you and your brother somehow connected to _everyone_ I know?" Castiel smirked. "Be honest: have you had some dark and torturous love affair with Meg in the past?"

"Shouldn't think so, Angel," Dean replied. "Not really my type." He held Castiel's gaze for a little bit longer than usual, before he cleared his throat, reverting to his tactic of changing the subject. "What about you, Cas? You got plans for the holidays?"

"I just thought I'd sit here quietly by myself, to be honest."

"Seriously? You're not goin' home?"

"Not until Christmas. My parents and Michael are away on business, Lucifer is staying with our cousin in Chicago, and Gabriel is taking off for Las Vegas in the next few days and dragging Meg and her brother with him." The elder Novak had tried to get him to go along too, but Castiel had dug his heels firmly in the ground, refusing to go to a place of such inequity, and Gabriel had lost patience with him and given up.

"Looks like we're both alone for Thanksgivin', then."

"No we're not. We could...spend the holidays together?" Castiel winced as soon as the words left his mouth. "I know you've probably got better things to do, but -"

"Okay."

"What?" Dean shrugged. "Okay. I've got no issue with spendin' Thanksgivin' with you. Sounds pretty great, actually."

"Dear God." Crowley's voice made the pair of them jump; they’d quite forgotten that he hadn’t actually left the room yet."This tension is enough to make someone _ill_."

"Are you seriously still here, douche?"

"Not anymore I'm not." Crowley turned to glance over his shoulder just before he left the room. "Try not to break the beds."

Castiel went a startling shade of red. " _Crowley - !_ "

"What? If you jump on the beds too much, they'll break. Simple as that, Castiel." He grinned wickedly as he spoke.

"I'm gonna kill him one day," Dean cursed when the lecturer had gone.

"I'll help you," Castiel replied. "Hey...if you're not busy with anything...I was going to go to the grocery store and pick up some food for Thanksgiving. Would you fancy coming along with me?"

"Well, _someone_ has to make sure that you bring home some pie, haven’t they?"


	12. Holding The Fort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel and Meg share their version of the big night out.

"How is it that you manage to talk me into doing stupid stuff like this?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Because I'm your best friend, that's why."

" _Clarence_ is my best friend," Meg quipped, eyebrow raised. "You just seem to be a side effect of that."

The elder Novak clutched at his chest. "Ouch. You've wounded me, Masters. I thought we had something special together."

The girl rolled her eyes at the display, taking a seat beside Gabriel. "Yeah, yeah. I bet you say that to all the girls, numbskull. Anyway, the camera's on now. We - I mean, _you_ \- better get a move on with this."

"Your wish is my command, bestie." Gabriel shifted in his seat to face the camera with a beaming smile. "Hello there, Cassie's faithful viewers! I expect you're all a little surprised to find Meg and I holding the fort on this fine morning;  _Where is our beloved Castiel?_ I hear you crying. Well, my little sock puppets, Castiel and his unofficial sweetheart aren't here right now, but are out grocery shopping for their romantic Thanksgiving dinner together - seriously, you think we'd be doing this if Cassie was here? And, _why_ are we doing this, you might be asking? Well, as I'm sure many of you have seen, Cassie posted a video last night detailing our extravaganza of a night out at the student bar, and it was a little...inaccurate, wouldn't you say, Meg?"

"Misinformed, I'd say."

"Yeah. Misinformed. Which is exactly why Meg and I - Okay, _I_ -” He corrected when he noticed the look Meg was giving him “- felt the need to step in and reveal the truth about last night's events...well, as much of it as I can remember, anyway! There was a lot of drink going around." He glanced to the girl next to him. "So, are you ready?"

"If I have to be."

"Great!" Both of them pushed back their chairs, crouching down on their hands and knees. "Dear viewer, picture the scene: we're all at the student bar; Sockstiel is sulking in the corner all alone -" He held up the familiar sock puppet "- whilst Meg and I are off dancing. And it was there that we overheard this." He ducked under the desk, nudging Meg in the shoulder. "Masters, that's your cue." Meg gave an exasperated sigh, before holding her sock-covered hand high enough for the camera to pick up.

" _Hey there,_ " she said in a gruff imitation of her best friend's roommate. " _I'm Dean...Sockchester, and I dig...beer._ " She pulled a face. “Do I have to do this -?”

" _And I'm Sockssie!_ " Gabriel chirped in a high pitched voice, ignoring her question entirely, revealing the sock on his left hand. " _I've been dating Sockchester for approximately five minutes now, and I think it's going wonderfully. Don't you think so, Dean - Dean!_ "

" _Sorry, babe, what'cha sayin'?_ "

" _You've been spacing out on me all evening!_ "

" _Sorry, babe. I'm Dean Sockchester; s'just what I do. Word._ "

"He didn't say that," Gabriel corrected. “Nobody says _Word_ anymore, not even Winchester.”

"He may as well have said it," Meg argued. "Now, come on, get back into character."

"I thought you didn't want to do this."

"Yeah, well, I'm actually getting quite in to it now."

"Fine." Gabriel cleared his throat in order to get back into his "Sockssie" voice. " _Anyway, so I got a call from Mom, and she told me that Daddy was getting a promotion back home - Dean! Seriously!_ "

" _Er, what'cha say, baby?_ "

" _Where's your freakin’ head tonight?...Say, isn't that your roommate sitting over there? Y'know, the vlogging dude? Cas?_ "

" _ **Castiel.** He likes Castiel._ "

" _Whatever. Same thing really._ "

" _Didn't expect him to be here tonight. I thought he was all about studyin' and bein' a bit of a dork. Guess I thought wrong._ " Meg made a heavy, lovesick sigh for good measure. Gabriel gave her a nod of approval before he continued.

" _You guys seem kinda close. I didn't think...what with the assbutt video...I thought you hated each other._ "

" _Hate Cas? No way! He was a bit uptight at first, I guess - still is, really - but I never hated him. Not really. Not ever._ " "Sockchester" gazed longingly over at "Sockstiel".

" ** _Hey!_** " Gabriel's voice went up through three octaves. Meg recoiled at the sudden shriek and elbowed her friend in the ribs. " _Dean!_ "

" _What?_ "

" _Can you just focus on me for two seconds already? This is supposed to be our date and all you've done so far is drink beer and stare at your roommate!_ "

" _I haven't! I'm just surprised to see him here, that's all. Hey, did I tell you that Cas wants to be a writer? I've been tryin' to tell him to switch to a literature class, but he never listens. Gotta say, though, stickin’ at it and makin' family proud's quite respectable of him -_ "

" _Dean!_ "

" _What, babe?_ "

" _Don't "what, babe?" me! Just answer me this, do you actually want to be here with me? Or would you rather go on a date with **Cas**?_ And that -" Gabriel poked his head above the desk "- is where I come in and decide to take action. For, you see, my little sock puppets, Castiel has had a rather turbulent, albeit short, love life, part of which could be pinned on me and the whole introduction of April situation. So, naturally, I'm always on the look out for someone who's perfect for my little brother. And, well, ever since he broke up with Lisa, I've had an inkling that Dean Winchester is someone who's perfect for him. Especially since I've been snooping round and found out why he broke up with Lisa." He leaned forward, as if to convey some great secret into the camera. "Because he talked about my brother constantly. Just like in our incredibly accurate demonstration here. It appears that females are slowly losing their appeal for little Winchester and Castiel is who he really wants. I mean, come on, the tensions going on in that bar were intense, and that was just on Deano's side! Lest you think all this is one-sided, I beg to differ. You should have seen the looks my dear brother was sending across the bar, like a kid in a sweet shop who can't afford anything. Almost broke my heart."

Meg snorted. "Didn't think anything could break that heart of yours."

"I'm a very sensitive man, I'll have you know!" Gabriel gave her a playful shove. "Anyway, dear viewers, after a dramatic series of events that may or may not have had something to do with me - I was drunk, after all - Castiel left the student bar and went to do something nerdy, as per usual. And then that's when this happened -" He got back under the desk, rearranging his sock puppets, nudging Meg to get her to continue.

" _Hey, hey, where's Cas goin’?_ "

" _Dean!_ "

" _Somethin''s wrong -_ "

" _Okay, that's it, I've had it with you!_ " Gabriel put on a fake cry. " _We're done here, Dean! You're clearly far more interested in what's goin' on over there; you know what, I hope you and Castiel make each other very happy!_ "

Meg rolled her eyes, pulling herself up from the floor. "You're crazy, Novak."

"And that's why you love me," Gabriel replied with a wink.

"I don't think so. Sheesh, you're getting as bad as Balthazar!"

"Hey!" An indignant shout came from the doorway, where aforementioned Balthazar was acting as lookout.

Meg ignored him entirely. "Is that it, then, Gabe? Are we done now?"

"Yeah, pretty much. The only other thing I can remember from last night was being dragged away from the bar by Samsquatch." Gabriel stood and bowed for the camera. "Thank you for watching our presentation, my little sock puppets. We - yes, Meg, I said _we_ \- hope that you found it very informative. Say goodbye to the Internet, Masters."

"Bye," Meg said in a monotone, before she leaned over and switched the camera off. "There. Was that really worth all this sneaking around?"

"Yes!" Gabriel insisted. "We are the seekers of truth, my dear."

"Uh hu."

"The only thing left to do now is post it, so that everyone else in the world will know the truth."

"Do you seriously think that anyone is really watching these?"

"You were the one encouraging him in the first place!"

"Yeah, so Clarence has a project to give in! If this idea had hit the fan, what else would he be doing?"

"Well, considering the number of views I've been seeing, it seems like we're getting a bit of a following, my dear." Gabriel flashed her a grin, before pulling his phone from his pocket. "See here. Look at some of these comments on the last video video."

Meg leaned over and squinted at the screen. "" **CharlieOfTheBradbury:** _Duh! Of course he has a crush on you! I ship you two so much!_ "," she read aloud. " _Ship?_ What the hell is _ship_ supposed to mean?"

"And you call yourself Internet savvy," Gabriel mocked, tapping away at the keys of his brother's computer, making light work of the password. "Y'see, Masters, Cassie, whilst quite an intelligent little fellow, is incredibly predictable. His last password was ABCD, so it was obvious that his new password was going to follow the same format. Therefore, EFGH was mostly likely. Like I said, intelligent, but predictable." He worked in silence for a few moments, before a triumphant grin spread across his face. "There. Sorted. Don't say I never do anything for you, Meg."

"Numbskull," she muttered, just as Balthazar poked his head around the door.

"Heads up: the happy couple are back."

"Quick! Act natural!" Gabriel hurled himself onto his brother's bed, as Balthazar sprawled across Dean's, grabbing the nearest thing he could find - which happened to be one of Castiel's textbooks - and opened it, pretending to read it. A mere few seconds later, the door to the room opened, and Castiel appeared, followed a few seconds later by Dean, their arms full of bags from the nearby grocery store.

"What're you lot doin' in here?"

"Oh, well, nice to see you too, Winchester," Gabriel replied, arms folded. "Do I have to ask your permission now before I can drop in and see my favourite brother?"

"Since when have I been your favourite brother?" Castiel snorted.

"Oh, you know." Gabriel smirked at the dormant camera. "It's just certain assets you have, I guess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little break from Castiel's perspective; I really enjoyed writing this! There will be another chapter from another person's perspective a bit later on, but you all will have to wait and see...  
> Anyway, until tomorrow, my dears! :)


	13. Thanksgiving Turkey (bacon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel and Dean spend Thanksgiving dinner together, and Castiel finds out what Crowley did with that photograph.

"Do you seriously film _everythin'_ , Cas?"

Castiel let his reading glasses slide down to rest on his nose. "I promised the Internet I'd see them at Thanksgiving. Today is Thanksgiving; I can't disappoint now, can I?" He turned back to the camera, tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the desk in front of him. "But, before we get into the festivities, however, I'd like to just like to clear something up, before this gets out of hand. As most of you have probably seen, my dear older brother Gabriel decided to convince my friend Meg into helping him portray his interpretation of last week's events, and, long story short, they went a little _creative_ with it. Completely inaccurate, of course, right?" He leaned over his shoulder to where the Winchester was perched on the end of his bed, having woken up roughly fifteen minutes previously. "Right, Dean?"

There was a long pause. "Yeah," Dean said finally, taking longer to come up with a reply than Castiel predicted (except he squashed that thought down flat before it could lead to anything else). "Completely inaccurate."

"That's right." Castiel nodded into the lens to emphasise his point. "But, regardless of Gabriel's meddling, today is Thanksgiving and we here in Lawrence hope that you're having wonderful holidays, isn't that right, Dean?" He glanced expectantly at his roommate over his shoulder again.

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"And, in the true spirit of the holidays, today will be a celebration of that which we are thankful for -"

Dean cut him off with a snort. "You sound like you're quotin' some kind of holy book, Cas."

"Over-religious parents," Castiel reminded him, moving his chair around to face the elder Winchester. "Thanksgiving has always been treated as a big thing in our family when we're all at home together. We sit around the table and Mom makes us go around and tell each other one thing that we're thankful for that year. It's usually best if Heaven and the angels are somehow involved. I mostly say the same thing every year to keep her happy."

"What do you say?"

"I say that I'm thankful to be alive. If I wasn't alive, I wouldn't be able to be thankful for all the other things I value, would I?" He rose from his seat. "Anyway; enough about that. Are you hungry enough for dinner yet?"

"I'm _always_ hungry enough for dinner, Angel."

"That I don't doubt." Castiel moved across the room and rescued the packet of turkey bacon from the refrigerator. "I'm sorry again that it's not a real turkey; I kind of had to improvise."

"Don't worry 'bout it. S'not like I'd be off somewhere eatin' turkey if, by some miracle, Dad managed to get his ass home in time for the holidays. We're more burgers and fries kind of people."

"Well, then, I'm sorry for not buying any fries." He flashed Dean a smile. "Before I forget, actually, I did buy you something else though." He reached into his chest of drawers and brought out a rectangle-shaped parcel, meticulous wrapped in brown paper.

"Oh, yeah?" Dean's eyebrow quirked up in interest. "When did this happen?"

"I may have gone out whilst you were asleep and picked it up."

"Wow. Sneaky, Angel. Didn't think you had it in you." Dean took the package from his hand, sliding his fingers under the paper and tearing at the sellotape. He glanced up at Castiel a second later with an unreadable expression on his face, having caught a glimpse of what was inside. "You didn't. Cas, _tell_ me you - You did." He held up the unexpected gift. "You bought me a sweater. A freakin' Thanksgivin' sweater."

Castiel smirked. "It wouldn't truly feel like the holidays if we weren't wearing awful knitted sweaters, would it? Don't worry." He pulled a second item out of the wardrobe. "I got one for myself too." He tugged it off the hanger and yanked it over his head. Dean snorted at the sight, before shaking his head and following suit a few moments later.

"I feel like an idiot."

"That shade of red suits you very well, Dean."

"Don't try to make me feel better about this, Angel," the Winchester retorted, but the tone of his voice was marred by the smile that crept onto his lips. Castiel simply rolled his eyes at the display, before he promptly left the room and walked the three metres down the corridor to the kitchen on their floor - a space which, as a rule, Castiel didn't use. He would much rather venture out to the cafeteria on campus if he was in desperate need of hot food rather than interrupt the social gatherings of the kitchen; Gabriel always scoffed every time that this fact was brought up and declared that his brother was training himself to become some kind of hermit with an allergy to people in the future. Luckily, what with the majority of people gone for the holidays, the kitchen, like most places on campus, was deserted, meaning that Castiel was free to spread his things across the counter how he wished (although he did end up knocking over a pile of neatly stacked saucepans in the process.) He could be a pretty nifty cook when he wanted to be - and if the wind was blowing in the right direction.

"Here," he announced, when he eventually returned to his room carrying two servings of food and found Dean slouched in his desk chair. "A Thanksgiving dinner of turkey bacon sandwiches. Happy holidays."

"Happy holidays." Dean took the plate presented to him, moving back to his bed in order to sit opposite his roommate. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Castiel spoke up again.

"What are you thankful for this year?"

Dean shrugged, licking a trace of food from his fingers. "I don't know. The usual, I guess. Sammy. Jess. You."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm pretty thankful I met you." He shifted, looking a little embarrassed at the confession. "Because, y'know, who else is gonna put up with me? Like, living wise." Castiel was pretty sure that the tips of the Winchester's ears were tinged pink by this point. It was almost endearing...not that he would ever admit that to anyone, certainly not aloud when Dean was there in the room. Instead, he simply smiled at him.

"I'm glad I met you too, Dean Winchester. You may be a pretty terrible roommate, all things considered -" Dean snorted "- but you're a good friend. No, better than that. You're a _great_ friend. And I'm thankful for that." The two shared a smile - only Castiel noticed that Dean's wasn't as bright as it had been earlier - before the Novak let out a groan. "Ah, crap, I left the camera on again!" He leapt up, discarding his plate on the duvet, reaching around the side of the camera to turn it off.

Dean snorted again. "What, our dinner conversation not fascinatin' enough for your viewership, Angel?"

"No, it's not that. It's just...this whole thing was supposed to be about “selling” college so that people would want to come here, and next to nothing I've posted has anything relevant to education; every time I try, some kind of drama always happens."

"Maybe it's just fate, Cas. Maybe you're just destined to become a documenter of college drama."

"I'm sure my viewers have enough of their own drama to content with without being bombarded by mine."

Dean finished off the last of his turkey bacon, and the last of Castiel's when given the go-ahead. "Hey, you don't know that. Maybe seein' Gabriel make sock puppets of us will inspire someone...somehow."

"Maybe." Castiel entertained the idea with a half smile. "But, enough about that, what are you going to do with the rest of your Thanksgiving? I doubt that business in the student bar will be high tonight."

"Well, I managed to wrangle Sammy's DVD player off him before he left...Fancy watchin' a movie?"

Castiel looked surprised for a moment - spending the rest of the day sitting in the dorm room was the last thing he expected Dean to say - but he nodded. "That sounds pleasant enough."

" _Avengers_ okay with you?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never seen any of the _Avengers_ movies before."

"Never seen -? Seriously?" Dean looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. "Thank God I'm here to change that, then." He inserted the disk into the player, before smirking suddenly. "Come on, Cas." He patted the gap on the bed next to him. "I don't bite."

Castiel paused, remembering the incident from the week before that also included Dean and sharing bed space, but, then, after a moment of hesitation, he nodded and parked himself in the spot beside Dean, sitting shoulder to shoulder with his roommate. Dean grinned, nudging him playfully as the opening credits began.

The opening credits soon became the only thing Castiel could actually remember of the movie; one minute he was concentrating on the beginning scenes of _The Avengers_ , and the next minute he found his head slumped on Dean's right shoulder and the Winchester's arm tucked snugly around him.

"Hey," he grinned down at Castiel's confused expression. "Finally awake there, Sleeping Beauty?"

 _Sleeping Beauty._ Castiel tried to ignore the heat rushing to his face. Dean couldn’t have chosen any _other_ nickname? "How long have I been asleep?"

"A while," Dean admitted with a slight shrug. "I didn't really want to wake you, Angel. You looked kinda sweet."

"Thank you?" The response came out as a question, as if Castiel didn't know what exactly he should do with that information. (To be totally honest, he _didn’t_ know what to do with it.)

They watched what was left of the movie in silence after that, Castiel trying to keep up with what he'd missed in order to make sure that he didn't drop off again. He noticed that Dean chose not to remove the arm that he had casually wrapped around his shoulder, even when he moved to put another movie on, but, just as he had done when Dean had held his hand, he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make the atmosphere between them any more awkward - especially after the drunken sleeping incident. It was only when Dean himself dropped off to sleep, two movies later, that Castiel gently removed the arm around him and laid it to rest on the bed, heaving himself up and moving to sit at his desk.

It had been at least a month since he had first picked up Meg's camera, and still he knew next to nothing about editing his own videos. Not that anyone particularly seemed to care, much to his surprise. Most people who left their thoughts and questions talked about him personally; Dean was usually mentioned in these comments too, along with the term "ship" that Castiel wasn't familiar with (the one time he'd asked Gabriel about it, his brother had simply smirked and refused to give him an answer out of his own amusement). Instead of puzzling over the comments section, he decided to re-watch the footage he'd captured that day, scrutinizing his digital form presenting Dean with his jumper and then backing out of the room with a grin, leaving Dean alone with a lingering smile on his lips, picking at a strand of wool from the hem of the jumper until he looked up at the camera.

"Shit - Cas -" He glanced towards the door and then back again. "You forgot to turn the freakin' camera off again, didn't you?" He waited a few more moments, as if debating what he should do now, before he got off his bed and settled himself in Castiel's desk chair. "My name is Dean Winchester," he said suddenly. "I'm an Aquarius; I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women." He winked into the lens, snorting; Castiel rolled his eyes at the crude comment. "Seems like Cas ain't comin' back any time soon, so it looks like you lot out there are stuck with me for a while. If there's anyone actually watchin' out there. Do you people really get entertained by watchin' Cas talk about studyin' and how much he hates partyin' and havin' fun? Don't get me wrong, it's not that Cas ain't interestin', because he is. No doubt about that, he is. But, do you people out there really find our lives more interestin' than your own? Hey, if you do, I'm not the type to judge or anythin', but I suggest a hobby. Knittin' or somethin' - Yeah, you should knit your own Thanksgivin' sweater. Then you can look as good as me." He pulled a face suddenly. "Oh God, I hope Cas didn't stitch this himself. Trust me to end up with a roommate who makes knitted sweaters." He shook his head, but there was a smile creeping across his face.

"I bought it, actually," Castiel said in a too-late reply.

"Anyway, I guess, since there's nothin' else to really talk about right now and we'll all die of boredom otherwise, we might as well share some secrets, mightn't we? Make some kind of confession - that's how this stuff is supposed to work, right? We admit our deepest, most private thoughts on camera for millions of people on the Internet to hear and comment on? Well, if Cas doesn't edit this bit out, anyway." Castiel was frowning by this point, wondering how on earth Dean hadn’t picked up on the fact that he didn’t know how to edit bits out. "So, if you non-knitters out there watchin' this remember that far back, last Friday the majority of us went to the bar for discount night; I don't remember all that much of what actually happened - even after Gabe's little demonstration - but..." He looked almost shifty. "...thanks to a reliable source - well, reliable-ish; I don’t think Crowley can exactly be called reliable -, I haven't forgotten as much as I had." Castiel almost choked on his intake of breath. "I can remember arguin' with Cassie over somethin' - and that's chick Cassie, not Cassie as in what Gabe calls Cas - and then her leavin' the bar; After that, a lot of its blurred, and I think I threw up in the gutter of Crowley's apartment - that part was pretty great, actually - but I obviously found my way, because I woke up...just not in my own bed." Castiel bundled the neck of his sweater up around his face, trying to hide his red cheeks from the reflection in the computer screen. He was going to murder Crowley the next time he saw him if that's what it took to get that freaking photo deleted. "And, no, before you get your little puppet-clad hands on this, Gabriel, I wasn't gettin’ it on with your brother." He looked like he was about to say more on the matter, but, at that moment, Castiel had returned carrying plates of food, and the entire subject seemed to have been forgotten. Nothing distracted Dean more than food, after all.

Castiel leaned over his shoulder to glance at the still-sleeping Dean, before he let out a groan, his head sinking down into his palms.

"Freaking Dean Winchester," he mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we know what Crowley did with that photo!  
> Until tomorrow, my little sock puppets :)


	14. Mistletoe Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel decides to decorate his room for Christmas, and Gabriel leaves a sprig of mistletoe in his wake...

"Smile!"

Gabriel looked at the piece of tinsel in his hands, disgruntled. "I can't believe you roped me into this madness."

"Now you know how it feels." Meg smirked as she zoomed the lens in directly onto his face. "Besides, I thought you were all about the Christmas spirit."

"I'm full of Christmas spirit!" Gabriel insisted. "I just don't see the point in decorating when no one is actually going to be here."

"Dean will be here," Castiel reminded him, sending the elder Winchester a smile.

Dean shook his head. "I told you, man, you didn't have to -"

"I want to," Castiel reassured him. “Honestly.” The two shared a grin, holding each other's eyes longer than was strictly usual.

Sam cleared his throat loudly, interrupting them. "Okay. When you guys are done having eye sex and everything..."

Castiel felt his face heating up and going red. Dean let out an awkward cough, breaking the intense gaze he was sharing with his roommate. "Shut up, Sammy," he mumbled, studying the box of Christmas tree ornaments in front of him as if it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever laid eyes upon. Gabriel and Sam gave each other knowing smirks at this.

"I think it's really sweet, Castiel," Jess said with a smile and a wink; the wink made the younger Novak a little uncomfortable, considering most of their other conversations had something to do with Dean and their - _friendship_.

"Wipe that scowl off your face, Novak, and stop being such a Scrooge." Meg had wrapped a piece of silver tinsel through Gabriel's blonde hair. "Even _I'm_ smiling at Christmas." Gabriel stuck his tongue out in her direction, causing the collected party to break out into laughter, the sound going on uninterrupted for a few minutes until Sam's phone ringing noisily in his back pocket. He excused himself quickly and ducked out of the room, still grinning.

Gabriel, meanwhile, was pouting. "You're all mean, I hope you know that. Sockstiel would never treat me this way."

"Sockstiel doesn't exist, numbskull."

"How dare you!" Gabriel fixed her with a look of mock horror. "You've hurt me deeply, Meg."

"I would've thought you'd want the truth," she replied cheerfully. "Given that you're a supposed truth seeker."

Gabriel huffed at this. "I am never trusting you with Sockchester ever again. In fact, I'm firing you. Forever."

"Thank God for that."

"Hey, for what's it worth..." Dean winked at them. "...I _do_ dig beer."

"I think we all noticed." The younger Novak rolled his eyes.

 

"Dean?" Sam had poked his head back around the door, phone pressed against his shoulder to muffle the speaker. "Can you, uh, come out here for a minute?"

"Why?" Sam said nothing in reply, but Castiel saw him silently mouth the word _Dad_ , before nodding towards the phone in his hand. Dean had risen from his seat and was out of the room in almost an instant, Sam giving them all apologetic glances as he closed the door behind him. Suddenly, the Christmas music Dean had started playing through his speakers sounded too loud, too intrusive for the moment at hand.

Meg cleared her throat to relieve the sudden tension in the air. "So...Gabriel. Are you going to dress up again and be the angel on top of the Christmas tree?"

"Please," Gabriel snorted. "If anyone was going to be the angel at the top of Dean's tree, it would be Castiel."

"Gabriel!" Castiel glared at him.

"What? S'true, isn't it? Jess?" He looked to her for approval.

"Don't try to drag me into your family drama!" She held up her hands in mock surrender. "But, going off the record here, yeah, totally." The three of them, not including Castiel, laughed at this, the atmosphere beginning to return to normal.

"Don't look like that, Clarence." Meg slung an arm around her friend's shoulder. "It’s Christmas. And we've still got all this decorating left to do."

They worked in relative silence after that, the only sounds being the rustle of decorations and the jolly music still echoing throughout the room, until Gabriel started up a one-man sing along that left them all reeling.

Dean and Sam didn't return.

Jess left after a couple of hours, having received a text from her elusive boyfriend that he was waiting down in the truck for her, wishing them all a Merry Christmas as she left. Meg and Gabriel soon followed her, Gabriel giving his little brother a playful whack on the back of the head as he sidled out of the room.

"I'll go load up the car, 'kay?" He called over his shoulder. "Don't take too long or I'll drive off without you." Castiel rolled his eyes, shrugging his beloved trenchcoat on, before going to sit at his desk, addressing the camera once he had switched it back on.

"Well, Internet...I'm not entirely sure if there was meant to be a point to today's videos; I'll see if I can think of one whilst I wrap this one up. I guess today was all about the spirit of Christmas and the festive season. Peace on earth, good will to all, and the like." He was cut off by the door opening behind him and Dean coming in, hands in his pockets, face wary. "Dean? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Well, maybe. I'm not exactly sure."

"What's happened?" Castiel rose from his seat and moved to stand beside him.

"Dad called."

"I see."

"He's in town. He wants us over for Christmas - y'know, to talk."

"Isn't Sam going to Jessica's, though?"

"Yeah. He is." Dean let out a sigh. "Christmas dinner, just me and Dad. That'll be somethin' of a riot."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be.” There was a pause. “Sorry about the room. Wastin' your time and everythin’."

"You didn't waste my time, Dean. I enjoyed myself." He frowned. "We _all_ enjoyed ourselves."

"Oh, yeah? Even Gabriel?" Dean snorted, but the sound was without humor, for once.

"Yes. Even Gabriel."

"I will say, the sight of him with tinsel on his head really -" He stopped suddenly, as if the words had just died in his throat, eyes fixed on something just above Castiel's head.

"What?" The Novak followed his gaze upwards, at the tiny sprig of mistletoe pinned to the ceiling. Pinned directly above them, no less. "Oh. That."

 _Oh that_ , indeed.

Castiel shuffled, his feet glued to the floor. "Gabriel's doing. I bet that he did it just so he could get Sam trapped under there with him and -" He was cut off by Dean, who had suddenly caught his face with the palm of his hand and pressed their lips together for the briefest of seconds.

"I, uh -" Dean dropped his hold on him like he was scalded. "I - Sorry - I just thought - I'm just gonna go - Bye." The elder Winchester all but sprinted from the room, uncharacteristically tripping over his own two feet as he went. Castiel raised a hand to his lips, eyes going from the door to the camera on his desk.

"What just happened?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was okay (I wasn't entirely sure, but then again, I never am) and that you all enjoyed the Destiel at the end there.  
> Until tomorrow, my little sock puppets :) x


	15. Gabriel Novak: The Musical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel's slowly losing the will to live when it comes to Castiel and his relationship with Dean - or rather, his lack of a relationship with Dean.

"That's enough!" Gabriel let the bedroom door slam against the wall as he barged into his brother's room, not bothering to knock, as per usual.

Castiel glanced up at him, fingers still gently petting the orange tabby cat he held in his lap. "What?"

"You -" Gabriel pointed an accusing finger towards him "- have been hibernating in your room and silently sulking since the moment we got here. All you've done is listen to breakup songs and stroke that goddamn cat for _five days_ -!"

The animal in question let out a mewl at his words. Castiel shushed her gently, pressing a kiss on the top of her fur. "Don't listen to him, Claire. Don't listen to nasty Gabriel."

Gabriel pulled a face. "Yeah, well, _nasty Gabriel_ has been watching Mother Dearest being driven crazy by your reclusive behaviour, so we're going to sit and talk about this before anyone turns to insanity."

"Talk about what?"

"For God's sake, Cassie!" Gabriel ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "What do you take me for? Don't think me so busy that I wouldn't watch your little videos from the other day. _Both_ of them. I know about what happened with De -"

"Hey!” The younger Novak interrupted him suddenly, realising just where this conversation was going. “Why don’t we do a video now?"

Gabriel stared at him, incredulous. "What?"

"A Christmas video. Come on, it'll be fun!" Castiel rose from his seat on the bed, scooping a wriggling Claire into his arms (who was making sounds of protest at the jostling movement), switching on the camera, already set up.

 _Anything_ to distract Gabriel from the rest of this conversation.

"Merry Christmas, Internet!"

"Cassie -!"

"Gabriel, sit down!"

Gabriel huffed, crouching on the floor beside his brother's seat. "Cassie, enough of this. If you don't start listening to me, I'm going to get Cousin Anna in here and you know she'll make you talk!"

Castiel let out a sigh. "What do you even want to talk about?"

"What do I even - _Castiel!_ " Gabriel was staring at him in disbelief. "How could we not talk about this? Talk about how happy I am for you?"

"Ha - Why exactly are you happy for me?"

"Because of this?" Gabriel blinked, nodding towards the camera, a slight frown creasing his brow. "The video - That - This whole thing - This was your big gay love confession, right?"

"Wh - No! This is me being very very _very_ confused and having no idea what to do about it!"

"Isn't it obvious what you should do?"

"No, it isn’t."

"Jump aboard that Winchester train like your life depends on it and ride it all the way to the end of the track!"

"Gabriel!"

"What? I didn't mean it in the dirty way - this time - I swear!"

"Regardless, I'm not going to " _jump aboard that Winchester train_ "."

"Why on earth not? I thought that last video was a pretty convincing ticket for you."

"Yes, and have you seen the countless others with him and his long line of girlfriends? I think we can conclude that Dean isn't exactly gay, is he?"

"Neither are you," Gabriel commented, eyebrow raised. "You're both bisexual, most likely. Big whoop."

" _Big whoop_? Dean is straight."

"Yeah. Straight like a bendy ruler."

"I'm serious, Gabriel.”

“So am I, Cassie. So am I.”

“Dean is one hundred percent heterosexual."

Gabriel snorted. "In what universe? Certainly _not_ this one! Are you seriously saying that you haven't noticed all the little looks he's been sending you over the past month? Did you even watch my sock puppet video before you slandered it?"

"That was just your perception of events after getting stupid drunk, Gabriel. It doesn't count."

“Okay, maybe my acting skills were a little too professional, but it still happened!”

“Cassie and Dean broke up because of _me_? _Really?_ ”

“ _Yes!_ ” Gabriel threw his hands up in the air.

His brother pulled a face. "I don't believe you."

" _Cassie!_ " Gabriel screeched. "Right. That's it. You're not going to listen to me? Fine. You're going to listen to reason." He leapt up, yanking a pair of socks out of the nearby drawer and pulling them onto his hands.

Castiel let out a groan. "Seriously, Gabriel - Not this again -"

" _IF THERE'S A PRIZE FOR ROTTEN JUDGEMENT -_ " Gabriel cleared his throat before he began to warble in his "Sockstiel" voice " _\- I GUESS I'VE ALREADY WON THAT. NO MAN IS WORTH THE AGGRAVATION...THAT'S ANCIENT HISTORY, BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!_ " His voice went up three octaves. " _WHO D'YOU THINK YOU'RE KIDDING? HE'S THE EARTH AND HEAVEN TO YOU. TRY TO KEEP IT HIDDEN, HONEY WE CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU. **CAS** , YOU CAN'T CONCEAL IT, WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE FEELING, WHO YOU'RE THINKING OF_!" Castiel muffled his face in Claire's fur, hoping that Gabriel was finished. He wasn’t. " _NO CHANCE, NO WAY, I WON'T SAY IT, NO, NO. YOU SWOON, YOU SIGH, WHY DENY IT, OH, OH. IT'S TOO CLICHE, I WON'T SAY I'M IN LOVE **WITH DEAN**!_ "

"Okay, enough, enough! Give me my socks back!"

"You can't handle the truth, little brother. You and Dean have got this whole unambiguous love thing going on, but you're too damn stubborn to admit it."

"Dean and I are just friends."

"You're just proving my point here! Think about it, Cassie. What about when he first moved in and did all of that assbutt-esque crap?"

"That was just Dean and I not knowing how to live together properly."

"Or, it was love at first sight and he didn't know how to deal with that. Bless him."

"Love at first sight doesn't exist."

"For God's _sake_ , Castiel!" Gabriel looked almost ready to cry with frustration. "He went out with a girl called Cassie to basically try and compensate for you. He went for you under the mistletoe because he likes you. He _like_ likes you. How did you not have some suspicions over that?" He narrowed his eyes. "Is this about April?"

"What?"

"Is April why you're acting like this? Why you won't let yourself love someone like that again? Cassie, she was no good for you, and you know that. You need to get over it. You’re my brother, so you deserve someone who makes you happy and who treats you well and who loves you completely and honestly - and if Meg starts making any jokes about me saying all this sappy crap, I'll kill her." He shook his head. "Look, I can't do more if you’re refusing to see sense. All I know is that, whilst I do not particularly like little Winchester, he makes you happier than I've seen you in a long time. Which is why I got you this." He reached into his pocket and dropped a piece of folded paper onto the desk.

“What’s this?”

“Dean’s cellphone number. I got it after wheedling to Sam earlier for at least twenty minutes; y’know, in case you want to call the assbutt. Maybe talk some things out.” The elder Novak rose from his seat. "Oh, by the way, Mom made gingerbread earlier, and she wanted me to tell you to come down before Lucifer and Daddy Dearest eat it all." He left the room without another word, leaving Castiel staring, dumbfounded, at the empty doorway, still cuddling Claire. His fingers scratched behind her ear, making her purr contentedly and snuggle into the fabric of his sweater.

"Is what Gabriel says true, Claire?" He mused aloud. "Do I...Do I like Dean?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU TELL HIM, GABE.  
> Until tomorrow, my little sock puppets. It's all going to get very exciting tomorrow... :) X


	16. A Very Merry Winchester Christmas (featuring Bobby and The King of Hell)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean gets some unexpected encouragement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another break from Castiel's perspective! Let's see what Dean's been up to, shall we?

Dean Winchester had certainly had some better Christmases.

It wasn't just the fact that, although Sammy wasn't actually around for the holidays this year, he was still being a pain in the ass from hundreds of miles away. It also wasn't just the fact that he was sitting at the kitchen table with John, the man he hadn't seen or spoken to in months - I mean, sure, that part was awkwardly unpleasant, but it wasn't the worst part.

John had invited Bobby over for Christmas dinner too, to fill up the gaps in the conversation where Sam would have - _should_ have - been. Dean had always liked Bobby - the man had been like a surrogate father to him over the years; unfortunately, Crowley had decided that he'd rather not spend Christmas day sitting on Bobby's couch in front of the TV and eating turkey on his own, so had invited himself along to the Winchester festivities, and was now sitting in Sam’s seat opposite Dean at the table with a shit-eating grin spread across his face.

Fantastic. Just fan - freaking - tastic.

"So, Dean." John broke the silence between them, the silence that hadn't been interrupted since the general compulsory hellos had been exchanged. "How's college?"

"Yes, Princess," Crowley cut in, pushing sprouts across his plate with his fork. "How _is_ college these days? I hear the sleeping arrangements in your _particular_ room are to be desired."

Dean almost choked on his mouthful of food. He fired a glare at Crowley, before turning to look towards his father. "It's okay, Dad. Goin' fine."

"Oh, yes, I bet something definitely _is_ fine," Crowley snickered. "Or, should I say, some _one_." Dean kicked him in the shins under the table.

John glanced between them, licking a trail of gravy from around his mouth. "Someone? Dean?"

"You know," Crowley continued, as if John hadn't spoken. "I was surprised to not see your angel hovering about around here. I thought you two were basically inseparable. Inseparable at _all_ times of the day, if you catch my drift.”

"Cas chose to go home for Christmas," Dean replied through gritted teeth, using his fork to aggressively spear a chunk of turkey.

"You've never mentioned a Cas before now," John commented, artfully glossing over the fact that he hadn’t _been there_ enough for Dean to be able to mention a Cas before now. "When did you two meet?"

Dean shrugged. "A couple of months ago, maybe? Not entirely sure."

"Is she nice?"

Crowley snorted at the use of the wrong pronoun. Dean shuffled. "Nice enough, I guess. A bit uptight sometimes, but then we all have our quirks."

"Pretty?"

The shuffling increased. "I haven’t really -...Guess so. A little bit."

“ _Liar,_ ” the business lecturer sung under his breath, earning a glare from Bobby.

" _A little bit_. I see." John smiled knowingly at the expression on his son's face.

"No, you really _don't_ see, actually," Crowley replied smugly. Dean only just resisted the urge to flip him off.

Bobby scowled at the two of them. "Is it too much to ask for a man to eat his Christmas dinner in peace without you two idjits killin' each other?"

“Well, what else is there to do?” Crowley grumbled. “This turkey tastes like leather.” He looked to John. “Better luck next year, mate.”

Bobby’s scowl deepened. “It was me who cooked the damn turkey, chucklehead.”

Dean smirked as the complacent look dropped from Crowley’s face, jumping a little when his cellphone started ringing noisily; Sam's name flashed up on screen when he fished it out of his pocket.

“Is it your angel?” Crowley asked around a mouthful of parsnip. Dean made a point to ignore him. Excusing himself quickly, he escaped the kitchen (hearing Crowley protest _“What?”_ when Bobby inevitably glared at him again), ducking out of the back door and crossing the garden towards The Sanctuary.

"Hey, Sammy."

"Finally!” Sam sighed. “I’ve been trying to call you for three days now. You really are an idiot, Dean."

"Oh, wow, I'm fine, Sam. Thanks for askin'. Merry freakin' Christmas to you too."

"Dean, I'm being serious!" He could imagine Sam pulling one of his bitchfaces at the other end of the line. "Have you been watching Cas' videos lately?"

Dean let out a sigh, resting his feet up on the branch. "Sammy, I think I got more important things to do than watchin' Cas sittin' in front of a camera. Y’know, like makin’ sure I don’t murder Crowley over Christmas dinner."

"Well, luckily for me, I have. Otherwise I would never have found out about the mistletoe thing,” Sam replied, trying to remain patient but failing to. “I doubt you would have told me.”

“Oh. That.” _Shit._ “Sammy -”

“Are you seriously _that_ blind, Dean? Can you not see what’s right in front of you?”

“What the hell are you talkin’ ‘bout, Sam?”

“You ran off, you freaking idiot!” Sam’s voice was exasperated. “What the hell did you do that for?”

“Wow. Someone's bein' a grumpy moose today."

"Dean!" There was the sound of Sam softly banging his head against whatever wall he was next to at Jessica's parents' house. "Stop changing the subject! This isn't about me; this is about the fact that you haven't swept Cas off his feet and told him how you feel yet!"

"Jesus, Sammy, this ain't a freakin' Disney movie."

"It may as well be. You're clearly infatuated with him."

"I'm not infatuated with the guy."

"You liar." Sam gave a snort. "That's bullshit, and we both know it."

"No, we don't _both know it_."

"It's not like we haven't been here before, Dean."

"What d'you mean by that?"

"Don't you remember in high school? There was that guy - what was his name? Ben? Benny? That transfer student. You fawned over him for weeks -"

"Did not!"

"And there was that TV show you used to watch all the time. That _Doctor Sexy_ , or whatever."

"What's wrong with _Doctor Sexy_?" Dean asked defensively. "There's nothin' wrong with admitting that another guy looks good."

"There's a difference between admitting that another guy looks good and having some kind of obsessive crush on them. Which brings me back to my original point - you really are an idiot, Dean. Cas is my friend too; if you hadn't run off when you did, I guarantee he probably would have made out with you there and then, on camera or off camera. Everyone knows that he likes you, even if he doesn't realise it himself." He gave a melodramatic sigh. "That's why the pair of you are such a good match. You're both as blind as each other."

"Bitch."

"You're only saying that because you know I'm right, Jerk." There was silence between them for a while; if they'd been talking face to face, they probably would have been scowling at each other.

"Okay, fine!" Dean snapped finally, when the silence from the other end of the line became unnerving (all he could hear was Sam breathing, and even that sounded irritated). "Maybe I do like Cas a little bit - _a little bit_!" He raised his voice over Sam's jubilant cry. "But that doesn't mean anythin'. He doesn't like me like that -"

"Doesn’t like - _Have you not been listening to a word I've been freakin' saying?_ " Sam demanded shrilly, his brief moment of triumph cut short by his brother's words (Dean had to hold the phone away from his ear in order to avoid being deafened). "Look, if you can't - or _won't_ \- listen to me, would you just watch Cas' video? Seems that the only way you're ever gonna get some sense knocked into your damn brain is by hearing him say the words himself."

"I'll think 'bout it. If I ain't got anythin' better to be doin'."

"Fine." Sam sighed again, the sound disheartened this time, almost defeated. "Merry Christmas, Dean. Tell Dad I said Happy Holidays, and all that."

"Will do." Dean hung up, not bothering to say goodbye properly, instead keeping his eyes trained on the dark overcast sky. Looked like snow was on the way.

"Somethin' on your mind?" Shit. Dean almost fell out of the tree at the sound of the voice (now he remembered why he didn't like heights). John was leaning against the base of the tree, gazing up at him with an odd expression concealed away in his mossy eyes. Dean didn't need a college education of any quality to know that he had heard practically every word.

"Dad -"

John held up a hand, cutting him off. "It's fine. You don't have to say anything." He sounded like he meant it, but his eyes said differently. "So, Cas..."

Dean closed his eyes, resting his head against the tree bark. "Short for Castiel. Only I can call him Cas." He smiled a little at that, despite the awkward situation - even more awkward than the atmosphere over Christmas dinner at the kitchen table. "He's my roommate. We didn't exactly get on at first - I thought he was the complete opposite to me, even if he is a little bit of a pretty boy - but, now..."

"You like him," John finished plainly, not asking a question.

"Yeah. I guess." The words were mumbled. "Sorry."

Confusion now coloured John's tone. "What on earth’re you sorry for, boy?"

Dean cracked an eye open. "Well...I know you don't exactly like...y'know, all that."

"Dean." John was looking at him seriously now. "Does this Cas make you happy?"

There was silence for a moment before Dean gave a sharp nod. "Yeah."

"Then that's all that should matter." The older Winchester set his jaw. "Yes, you know what my views are on "all that", but you're my son. And I know I don't show it often, but that's the truth, and if you're happy, then that's all you should think about." He cleared his throat, using Dean's tactic of changing the subject now that the conversation was ambling into touchy-feely territory. "Now, there's pudding inside when you're ready. I managed to wrestle the bowl away from that Crowley guy before he inhaled the entire thing."

Dean's lips curled up into a slight smirk. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay." John stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and began to walk away, before Dean's voice stopped him.

"Dad?"

He glanced back over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Thanks." Dean said it so quietly he wondered if his father had even heard it, but the man nodded after a long moment, shrugging.

"Don't worry about it, son," he replied gruffly, before heading inside, leaving Dean alone in the tree with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About John: I've read a lot of fics where he's either incredibly homophobic or incredibly supportive, so I thought I'd kind of meet in the middle.  
> We're getting into the final stages of this story, guys! :)


	17. The Insomniac Novaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna decides to talk some sense into her cousin.

"Hello, Internet." Castiel dragged a hand across his eyes. "I don't usually make a habit of staying up this late - or this early, I guess. I'm kind of having a sleepless night and, since everyone else is in bed, I've only got the camera to talk to about it." He leant against the kitchen counter, plucking at the fraying material of his nightshirt. "You know, I used to see things so orderly. When I was a child, it was just black and white, good and bad, everything fit into one of two categories. There was no in between. I've since come to realise that the world is not like that. Real life does not fit into those neat little boxes that I like to assign to everything."

"Castiel?" A voice from the kitchen doorway made him look up. Cousin Anna was leaning against the door frame, clad in a dressing gown, curling a strand of dark red hair around her finger. “You’re still up?”

“Anna.” He sighed. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. I just couldn't sleep. It's pretty cold tonight." She moved into the brightly lit room. "Why don't I make us some tea?"

"Is it special tea that tells me how to solve all my problems?"

"I'm afraid not. It's merely raspberry. Good for insomnia, though." She started getting the cups from the nearby cupboard, glancing towards the camera. "You're filming again? At this hour of the night?"

Castiel frowned. "Have you been watching my videos?"

"Yesterday. Gabriel showed them to me. Told me I should watch them all if I wanted a truncated version of what you've been up to in the past few months since we last spoke."

"Of course he did," Castiel sighed. "Did he try and sell you the sock puppet thing?"

"What do you think?" Anna gave a light chuckle. "So, what's up? Why are you sitting here at two in the morning, talking to the Internet?"

"I was just thinking out loud, I guess."

"About what?"

"Everything, really; College. The videos. Dean."

"Yeah, about him..." Anna passed him his mug and sat in the chair beside him. "I have to say, I'm slightly disappointed that he wasn't here for me to have the pleasure of meeting him over Christmas dinner."

Castiel gave her a slight smile. "Sorry. I'll have to remember that for the future."

"Ooh, there's a future, is there?" Anna looked at him with knowing eyes.

"Maybe. Possibly. I don't know." He took a long gulp of the warm liquid. "I'm failing."

"Failing what?"

"Classes, Anna. I'm failing my business classes. I can't grasp it at all. But, if I don't go through with it, if I change classes, what will my parents say? I'd be the first Novak since...well, since ever, really, to drop out of business."

"I think you should."

"You do?"

"I'm sure Auntie and Uncle wouldn't mind," Anna replied loyally. "Not if it means that you'll be happy."

"But, what about these videos, then? I only started them as part of this stupid project for my business classes; if I give up, it'll all be for nothing."

"I wouldn't say nothing, Castiel. I reckon someone out there somewhere is going through something similar. Maybe you've helped them, made them realise that they're not alone."

"That's sweet, Anna, but I don't think it'll protect me from Mother and Father find out and decide to withdraw my college fund before sending me to live in the gutter."

Anna shook her head. "Trust me, they'll want you to be happy. They think the world of you, Castiel." She smiled encouragingly. "But, returning to our previous topic, what about Dean?"

Castiel sighed. "We'll be here all night if I went through everything, Anna. It's a long complicated story -"

"Do you like him?"

"We're just -"

"Castiel, it's a simple enough question," Anna cut him off, matter-of-factly, folding her arms across her chest. "I didn’t ask about the nature of your relationship. I asked whether you like him. Do you, or do you not, have feelings for Dean?"

Castiel glanced between the camera and his cousin for a long moment. This entire topic had been weighing on his mind all week throughout the Christmas festivities, ever since Gabriel had charged into his room and made a big song and dance (quite literately) about his apparent crush on Dean. Crush that maybe wasn’t so apparent, when he took the time to think about it. What Gabriel had said was true. April had been the first person he’d ever shown affection of that manner towards, and he had gotten beaten down by it. Gabriel had tried to set him up during the four years since then, but Castiel would always refuse, claiming that there wasn’t anything special there, or that they had too dissimilar interests. Something to get Gabriel off his back. Because he didn’t want to get hurt again. That was the real reason. And Gabriel was right. He had to make himself get over that.

"...Y-Yes," he said finally, timidly, before sucking in a sharp breath, trying to reclaim the word that was suddenly out in the open. "I, um -"

"Okay, then," Anna interrupted again, not letting her cousin change the subject (a habit he seemed to have picked up from Dean). "There's your solution about what to do." She gave his shoulders a gentle nudge.

Oh, how he wished it were that simple. "Dean's - He's not - He's straight."

"Why don't you actually ask _him_ about that, instead of just assuming that he’s unavailable?" She suggested, draining the last of her tea and fighting off a yawn. "I think I'm going to try and get some sleep." She leaned over and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight, Castiel."

"Goodnight." Castiel waited until she'd left the room before he turned back to the camera. "I think she has a point, Internet. Talking to the camera really isn't the same as talking to real people." He let out a humourless snort. "And, on that note, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep before Gabriel and I start packing up to return to campus tomorrow, or later today, rather, so...goodnight - or good morning. One of the two." He switched the camera off, but paused before he left his mug in the sink. The slip of paper with Dean's phone number on was still sitting in his pocket, crumpled after being taken out and looked at so many times (he'd even memorised the damn number by this point).

Anna was right. As much as he didn't want to get his hopes up, he hadn't actually asked Dean whether he was heterosexual or not. After the situation with Lisa and his bed, he’d always just presumed that his roommate preferred women.

Maybe...?

Before he could lose his nerve, he reached for his phone, which was sitting patiently on the counter, punching in the memorized number and holding the device to his ear, waiting. It rang five times until the voicemail message kicked in. When the tone sounded, Castiel still hadn't worked out what he was going to say.

"Hello, Dean," he said eventually, after a long pause of awkward silence. "It's Castiel. Cas. I'm sorry for calling so late - or early, or - You know what I mean. Um, Gabriel got your number from Sam; I hope that's okay. Anyway, uh, when you have a few moments, would you give me a call? Y'know, to talk? Alright. Goodbye, Dean." He hung up, staring at the phone, wincing.

Gabriel was right about something else too. He _did_ suck at this romance thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we go! Castiel's finally ready to admit to himself how he really feels...Good for you, Castiel!  
> Until tomorrow, my little sock puppets :) X


	18. Well...This Is Just Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel and Gabriel return to campus, and have a run-in with someone they didn't expect. Things become awkward - and full of UST - pretty quickly.

"Well, we're back!"

"Indeed we are, Cassie!" Gabriel echoed with a beaming smile, brushing flakes of snow from his bobble hat, slinging a damp around around his brother's trenchcoat-clad shoulders. "After our whirlwind Christmas venture, we are back on campus and ready to celebrate New Years Eve and welcome in the new year in a less than sober way!"

Castiel sent him a look. "You're not dragging me to the bar again, are you? You know how well that went _last_ time."

"Unfortunately, no." Gabriel gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Since you refuse to leave your room during the snow unless you absolutely have to, I made a few arrangements."

"Such as?"

"Meg's travelling back from Louisiana early; she called ahead when we stopped off at the gas station. She's picking up some champagne on the way - Oh, come on, don't look so freaking miserable, Cassie! It'll be fun; you, me, Meg, Samsquatch, Jess, we'll have a blast!"

Castiel tried to ignore the fact that Gabriel hadn't mentioned Dean in his list of names. "Even so, I don't want you getting so drunk that you proceed to upchuck out of my window...again."

"That was ages ago!"

"That was Christmas Day!"

Gabriel waved his arm through the air in a careless gesture. "All in the past, Cassie. All in the past." He didn't waste any time moving on to the next subject of conversation. "So, have I beat around the bush enough for you? When are we gonna talk about your conversation with Anna?"

"Gabriel..."

"What?"

Castiel shifted, uncomfortable. "I really don't want to talk about this, not with the camera on."

"Cassie, your video blog is like the holy grail of drama," Gabriel said with a snort, but his face softened when Castiel's eyes slid to the desk and didn't look up again. "Okay. Fine." He leaned around his brother and switched the device off. "There. No camera. We can talk now, right?"

"Fine." Castiel let out a sigh. "So, after I made my stupidly early video this morning with Anna, I did some thinking."

"And?"

"And, in the end, I decided to call Dean -"

"Finally? You decided to take my advice? This is certainly a first."

"That's because your advice is usually terrible," Castiel returned, before continuing on with his recount of events. "Anyway, I left him a message on his voicemail."

"And?" Gabriel repeated, prodding him to carry on.

"And, nothing. I haven't heard anything from him." He gave a slight shrug, his small smile not meeting his eyes. "And, well, that's fine, I guess. I wasn't expecting to hear anything back from him, anyway."

"It hasn't really been that long, Cassie," Gabriel reasoned. "Maybe he's just trying to get his words in the right order. You know how emotionally constipated he is when it comes to this stuff. Like a blocked chute. That's why you two go so well together."

"It doesn't take seventeen hours to return a phone call, Gabriel," Castiel reasoned quietly.

"Don't do that." His brother groaned, shaking his head. "Don't do those heartbroken puppy eyes, Cassie. This isn't going to be another April, okay?" He squeezed the hand on his shoulder. "We've come this far with little Winchester; I'm not going to let this become another April. I don't _want_ this to become another April."

"I know. Neither do I."

"Then, wipe that sad smile away, little bro. It'll all be okay." Gabriel paused. "I could do some more singing if you'd like?" He reached into his pocket for his phone, but before Castiel could protest, the door opened behind them, banging softly against the wall.

"Cas?"

"Dean?" Castiel almost leapt three feet out of his chair. "What -?"

"I didn't know you were back." Dean shuffled with the box he was carrying in his arms. "I was gonna call you -"

"Don't worry -"

"It's just Dad wanted to go out for breakfast in this weather, for some freakin' reason -"

"It's fine. I understand." Castiel picked at the sleeves of his trenchcoat. Gabriel was glancing between the two of them, smirking, his eyes alight with some kind of emotion that Castiel couldn't quite pin down. Trying to concentrate on the awkward situation in the room over the noise of his heartbeat thumping in his ears was proving to be a bit more distracting.

Dean cleared his throat. "You, er - You have a nice Christmas?"

"It was... _illuminating_ , to say the least." The younger Novak thought back on his conversation with Anna, mentally cursing himself for not switching the camera off before they got onto the subject of Dean. No wonder things were uncomfortable between them; he had admitted, to quite a few people on the Internet, that he had a crush on his roommate. Dean had most likely seen it. "How was your Christmas?"

"I'd say _illuminating_ pretty much covers it."

"Good." Castiel tried to send glances to Gabriel, a silent plea so that he could find a way to leave the room. He couldn't think of what he was going to say to Dean - how he was going to apologise for making things between them awkward by his sudden discovery of feelings - when the object of aforementioned feelings was in the room and less than two metres away from him. Receiving nothing except a mischievous grin from his brother, he grasped around for a solution. "Oh, I, uh - I just remembered - I, er - I left my phone in the truck."

"Did you now?" Gabriel replied, before Dean could say anything. "I don't think you did."

"No. No, I did."

"I'm certain that you had it in your hands when we came in. In fact, I think it's in your pocket -"

"Well, it's _not_ ," Castiel replied through gritted teeth. "Excuse me." He ducked out of the room, letting out a muted groan and slumping against the wall, running a hand through his hair. Now he could actually think properly without being distracted.

 _Being distracted by Dean Winchester. Seems like some things never change,_ he thought.

"Smooth there, cupcake, real smooth," he heard Gabriel saying to Dean. "He'll really be falling at your feet now."

"Shut up," Dean snapped, sounding just as frustrated with himself as Castiel felt.

"Listen to me, Winchester. I don't like you -"

"Yeah. I kinda figured that much."

"Let me finish! I don't like you much, so if you screw my brother around, just know that I will _not_ hesitate to hunt you down like an animal in the farm yard -"

"Boy, you really know how to make a guy feel special, huh?"

"What did I just freaking say?" There was silence for a moment. "That being said, as much as I don't like you, I love my little brother, and I'm man enough to welcome and accept anyone who makes Cassie happy with open arms." Castiel guessed that Gabriel was probably looking meaningfully at the Winchester right now.

"Are you - Are you sayin' - Do you mean me?"

"No, I mean _Sam_ ," Gabriel deadpanned. "Yes, I mean you, idiot!" Castiel could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Seriously! Can you not just admit to your big gay crush on my brother already and get this over with?"

Dean made a choking sound. He clearly hadn't been expecting that to come up in conversation. " _What?_ "

"I may or may not be privy to what happened regarding your conversation with Samsquatch."

"Yeah, well, that conversation is none of your damn business."

"It's my business when my brother's happiness is concerned, Winchester."

"Yeah, well, then your business has got nothin' to do with me, Gabe." Dean suddenly sounded angry. Castiel wondered what this elusive conversation must have entailed - although, why he was concerned, he wasn't entirely sure. "S'not like anythin' said in that conversation is ever gonna go anywhere. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped meddlin' in my business, assbutt." He let out a loud huff, striding out of the doorway and into the hall, too busy scowling to notice his roommate was standing there until he collided with him head-on.

"Whoa!" Dean put his hands out instinctively, grabbing Castiel's shoulders in order to keep them both upright. "You alright there, Angel?" He glanced down at Castiel's hands, clamped tightly around his forearms.

"I...Um..." Castiel followed his gaze, not sure what to do, unable to make his hands move, half of him wanting to move away and half of him wanting to move closer (although, considering that he could hear his heartbeat in his ears again, so loud that he was surprised that Dean couldn't hear it too, that idea probably wouldn't do him any favours.) Had this always happened around Dean? Had he really only just started noticing it? Had he been blocking it out of his mind this entire time?

"Ahem." Gabriel's voice sounded from the doorway, causing both of them to jump. "Am I interrupting something here?"

"No." Dean quickly released his grip on the younger Novak's shoulders. "Nothin'." He took off in the opposite direction, leaving Castiel wordlessly watching him go, his arms now slumped by his sides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned to some people in the comments, yes, today is a double update, so the next chapter is coming in a moment! And, boy, is it exciting!   
> Get ready, my little sock puppets! :) X


	19. Stroke Of Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel and the others get ready to celebrate New Years Eve, but the Novak still hasn't found a way to fix things up with Dean...yet.

" _HEAT OF THE MOMENT! HEAT OF THE MOMENT -_ " Gabriel paused his karaoke to take another gulp of champagne. " _\- HEAT OF THE MOMENT SHOWED IN YOUR EYES!_ "

"Are you seriously filming this, Clarence?" Meg squinted at the camera, shaking her head.

Castiel gave her a shrug in reply. "Well, considering my entire project has fallen into Perdition, I thought I might as well carry on vlogging whatever I can capture. Even Gabriel's terrible singing." They shared a chuckle.

"Okay, Gabe, sweetie -" Jessica gently removed the glass from the elder Novak's hands, placing it down on top of the refrigerator. "I think that's enough champagne for now, don't you? We don't want you passing out before the New Year gets here."

Sam shook his head at the sight, chuckling. "I see nothing major changed with Gabriel whilst we were gone. Hey, Castiel? Did Dean ever watch any of the videos you made over Christmas?"

"He must have," Castiel replied. "He's been avoiding me ever since we got back, and that was five hours ago." The warm bubbly feeling of the champagne started to dissipate at that thought. Boy, he must have really messed up to make things this uncomfortable. "This was the opposite of what I wanted. I didn't want things to be this uneasy between us, or go back to the way they were before, with us always fighting."

"Don't worry, Clarence." Meg put a comforting arm around his shoulder. "He'll come around."

"More like come _out_ ," Gabriel snorted.

Sam pulled a face. "Sheesh, Gabe, have you even met my brother? He's the walking persona of Having A Sexuality Crisis."

"Funnily enough, that isn't exactly filling me with confidence," Castiel said.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Listen to Cassie bein' all sassy...Hey, that rhymed!" He grinned, pleased with himself. "Never mind all that, though. What's important is that it's five minutes to go until midnight -" He consulted the countdown he'd set up on his cellphone. "- and we still haven't made any resolutions yet!"

Castiel pulled a face, pleased of the distraction of his non-relationship problems. "Gabriel, you always break your resolutions!"

"Do not!"

"Okay, then, what about the year that you resolved not to buy Michael a tie for his birthday?"

"I bought him _two_ ties, Cassie. And they were matching, as well! Technically, that still counts!"

"And what about the year that you promised to stop leaving junk food all around the house?"

"I like having snacks on hand! You never know when you might feel peckish, after all." 

"Oh, and what about the year that you promised you wouldn't give Claire anymore impromptu showers?"

"Yeah, and that was also the year that she had fleas, Cassie! She had to be cleaned!"

"You could have scarred her for life, Gabriel!" Castiel pouted over the memory of trying to de-flea a very traumatised ginger tabby. He must have walked away with at least ten scratches.

"Regardless -" Gabriel sat himself down on his brother's bed, his feet dangling off the edge. "- this year, I want to focus on the future."

"Oh, joy," Meg muttered.

"I mean, the sock puppets were just the start of it! I want to branch out, y'know? Become more of a well-rounded entertainer, an all-round trickster - Hey! Maybe I should market that; Gabriel Novak: The Trickster..." He glanced around at the other members of the gathered party for approval. "Huh? Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah," Sam commented, eyebrow raised. "It's really, er...something, Gabe."

"I knew you'd see eye to eye with me, Samsquatch. I can always depend on you." Gabriel leapt up to clap the younger Winchester on the shoulder before collapsing back down again. "Whoa. Talk about a head rush."

"I'll get you some water." Castiel rose from his seat. "Keep away from my window this time if you have to throw up." He retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator, throwing it in his brother's direction.

"What about you lot?" Gabriel asked when he had finished the entire bottle. "C'mon, Samsquatch, got any resolutions?"

"You mean besides sleeping?" Sam snorted, taking a sip from his glass. "I guess I should listen to Jessica more."

"He'd crash and burn without me," Jess smirked playfully, planting a soft kiss on Sam's cheek.

"Gross," Meg commented, rolling her eyes. "It's bad enough Clarence being all mopy without you two being all mushy."

"I'm not being mopy!" Castiel protested, not that anyone believed him.

Jess looped an arm around Sam's neck. "Sorry. I'll try to keep the PDA to a minimum level, shall I?"

"No, no, please, carry on," Gabriel encouraged with a wave of his hand. "I've literally lost all faith in humanity's ability to recognise love during the course of this evening; I need some assurance that common sense exists within relationships." He gave Castiel a meaningful look, who childishly stuck his tongue out in response.

"What 'bout you, Meg? What's your resolution?"

"Same one as it is every year, Sam," Meg scoffed. "To not attempt to murder my nerdy pain-in-the-ass brother."

"Yeah. I know the feelin'."

"Dean?" He'd snuck into the room without the other noticing and was now standing beside Castiel.

"Thought you were spending tonight at the bar, Winchester," Gabriel remarked flippantly.

"Yeah, well, I was." Dean gave a shrug. "But, then, I decided that spendin' the New Year with you lot is what I'd rather be doin'." Castiel noticed the way his eyes went to him as he was talking, and then quickly back again before anyone else could pick up on it.

"I knew you loved me really," Sam said with a smirk.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Two minutes to go!" Gabriel reached for where Jess had put his glass, downing the contents. "I need some more champagne. Turn that music off, Masters, this is important!" There was a flurry of activity as Gabriel managed to get his hands on the rest of the bottle. Dean and Sam shared a collective eye roll at the sight.

"Does this happen every year?" The elder Winchester sounded bemused.

"It's not every year that Gabriel gets his hands on such expensive champagne," Castiel quipped, causing Dean to snort.

One minute to go.

"Should I make a speech?" Gabriel wondered aloud, in the middle of the excitement.

"Please," Meg replied snarkily. "Don't stretch yourself on our behalf. Really, don't."

Thirty seconds.

The elder Novak now had the face of a five year old. Castiel really should wrestle that bottle away from him before he broke anything. Knowing Gabriel, this was very likely.

Twenty seconds.

"Dean?"

Dean glanced up. It was the first time since returning that he'd actually met Castiel's gaze. "Yeah?"

"Dean, I -"

"Pipe down, Cassie!" Gabriel yelled.

Ten seconds. The others had already started counting aloud, and Castiel could hear more voices echoing into the hallway from other rooms.

Nine.

Eight.

"Happy New Year, Angel," Dean said casually, but still not really looking at him. His gaze had returned to the carpet, which now had spots of champagne scattered all over it. Seven.

Six.

He had really messed things up with Dean, hadn't he?

Five.

He didn't want to end the year on an awkward note. He didn't want to end the year on a dishonest note, either.

Four.

But, how exactly could he describe everything he was feeling? Hell, he couldn't even put it into words inside his own head!

Three.

His eyes scanned the room for inspiration, his gaze falling on the mistletoe that was still pinned to the ceiling.

Two.

Still directly above them.

One.

Castiel grabbed Dean by the lapels and yanked him forward, colliding their lips together as cheers went off around them, along with cries of "Happy New Year!" Except for Gabriel, who had seen what was going on and had yelled " _I KNEW IT!_ " instead of the traditional phrase.

Castiel drew back suddenly, still clasping at Dean's jacket. Dean himself was staring at him, eyes wide, jaw slack. In fact, the majority of people in the room shared that same expression - not that he was particularly focusing on them right now.

"Are we even now?" He asked, albeit slightly out of breath, his heart following the same rhythm as the tiny butterflies fluttering in his stomach. There was a long silence between the two.

"Screw bein' even," Dean mumbled when he had found his voice again, one of his hands finding their way to the back of Castiel's head, slamming their lips back together. Castiel let out a squeak of surprise, but he soon relaxed, lips quirking up into a smile,his hands soon settling at the base of Dean's neck.

"Masters?" Gabriel shook his head, grinning at the sight. "My faith in human relationships has just been restored."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DESTIEL.  
> I'll see you all tomorrow for the final chapter, my little sock puppets! :) X


	20. Mr Fizzles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel's video blog is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean that Gabriel is quite ready to step away from the camera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are, my little sock puppets! The final chapter is here; I hope you all enjoy it.

"Hey, everyone!" Castiel waved into the lens, not caring how ridiculous it looked. "How are you? All the times, I've spoken to the camera, not once have I ever asked how all of _you_ are."

"Shame on you, Castiel," Jess replied teasingly, rolling her eyes. "Wasn't one of your New Years resolutions  _be more positive_?"

"Well, I guess that's what today is all about." He nodded towards the camera. "I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last week, and, after much consideration, I've decided to step away from the camera, and so, yes, this will be my last video; I can't just say goodbye without giving my lovely viewers an update on everything that's going on, however."

"Such as?" She smirked. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Winchester, the one that isn't Sam, by any chance?"

A knock on the open door interrupted them, before Meg, jacket slung over her arm, walked in, not bothering to wait to be invited inside.

"Hey," she greeted nonchalantly. "You guys coming or what? The game's in fifteen minutes." A crease appeared between her eyebrows. "You done using my camera yet, Clarence?"

"Nearly. Shooting a goodbye video. Here." He leapt up and patted his chair. "Sit. Join us."

"Sheesh." Meg did as she was told, raising an eyebrow. "When did you become so cheerful? It's starting to creep me out."

"Never mind all that -"

"Okay, now you sound like Gabriel."

"Talk to us about everything that's going on in your life."

"You mean my daily struggle of not massacring everyone I see?" The brunette deadpanned. "Or the fact that Balthazar has been following me around like a lost puppy for the last hour?"

"Aw," Jess cooed, grinning. "Isn't that the cutest thing?"

"Not for me!" Meg pulled a face. "Ugh. You'd think the words  _Piss off_ would resonate with him somewhere, but, no, clearly not." She let out a huff. "Anyway, aren't we supposed to be going now? You don't wanna miss watching Sam outrun everyone with those towering legs of his, now, do you?"

"Eager, aren't we?" Jess shrugged her jacket onto her shoulders. "Why, is it because Balthazar's saving you a seat next to him?"

"Oh, ha ha. You're hilarious." Meg rolled her eyes into the camera, before rising from the chair and clapping Jess on the back. "C'mon. Let's get this on the road. Internet -" She gave a bow "- it's been a pleasure. Don't take too long, 'kay, Clarence? I need someone to counteract Balthazar's conversation."

"She's so in denial," Jess whispered conspiringly when Meg was out of earshot. "I think I'd better work up my matchmaking skills again." She gave him a one armed hug, before she too disappeared from view.

Castiel waited until their footsteps had faded down the hallway before he continued. "Oh, I finally decided to take some advice and swap classes; Meg's roommate Hannah pulled a few strings and got me into the Literature class with her. I think Crowley was more than glad to get rid of me, to be honest, since I was probably dragging his reputation through the mud." He shook his head with a chuckle. "I like to think that he's secretly pleased for me - or, at least, smug with satisfaction at being right. He was the one who showed Dean that damn photograph, after all. Speaking of Dean, and, well, me, I know a lot of you have been asking me in the comments about how we define our relationship, given that last time things got a little dramatic. Well, and it appears like this will please an awful lot of you elusive people out there, we've decided to, as Dean says,  _give this relationship deal a go_ , and, so far, it seems to be going well. Very well, actually. I mean, this sounds incredibly cheesy, and Dean will probably murder me in my sleep for saying this on camera, but -" He was cut off by a warm pair of hands suddenly covering his eyes.

"Guess who?"

Castiel smirked. "Did you forget something, Meg?"

"Hey! Are you sayin' that I sound like a girl, Angel?" The owner of the voice scoffed.

"Maybe."

"Well, then, since I sound so unrecognisable to you, Huggy Bear, maybe I'd better give you a clue..." A pair of soft lips covered his as the hands slid away from his eyes and rested on his shoulders.

Castiel smirked. "Um, Dean -" The words came out mumbled "- I still haven't worked out how to edit things out -"

Dean snorted, pulling back. "Whoops." He moved to sit beside the Novak, using his hand already there to pat him on the shoulder. "Anyway, I got you something."

"What?"

"Kinda a really late Christmas present." His eyes glinted as he reached under the desk - how had he hidden something there without Castiel noticing it? - and pulled out a flat, oddly shaped wrapped parcel. Castiel tugged the paper off, before he burst out laughing.

"Pink angel wings?" He held them up for the camera to capture, his lap becoming dusted in a thin layer of neon pink glitter.

"Merry Christmas, Angel. And also consider it payback for the amount of footage that's ended up on the Internet without me knowin' 'bout it."

"Fair enough. Then, I shall take my angel wings and wear them proudly." He strapped the wings on over his shirt, grinning. "Quite a way to end my last video."

"You know what they say. Go out with a bang, and all that...or, in this case, a shower of pink glitter."

"I'm sure the pink glitter will suffice. Hey, whilst I remember, you know what I never actually figured out?"

"How to edit videos?"

"Well, yes, but I wasn't referring to that this time."

"What, then?"

"I never worked out what _ship_ means."

" _Ship_?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I saw it all over the comments, but I never really understood what it meant. It seemed to imply that you and I were going on some kind of boat, but I get seasick quite easily, so I don't think that's really going to be in the future - What? Why are you laughing Is my seasickness funny in some way?"

Dean shook his head, chuckling. "Your online viewership  _ship_ us, do they?"

"Yes. That seems to be the general consensus."

"Well..." His smirk widened, as he leaned forward into Castiel's personal space, pausing when he was a few millimetres away. "You think we should give the audience what they want, Angel?"

"So, _ship_ means..." He never got to finish his sentence (or to let Dean demonstrate what it meant, which was a shame, really), as his phone started buzzing noisily on the desk. "Sorry," he mumbled, pulling back, much to Dean's disappointment, reaching for the device. "Uh, apparently, Gabriel has just tweeted out a video."

"Well, when one video blog finishes, another one begins, as they say."

"I don't think many people say that, Dean." Castiel was frowning at the screen of his cellphone. " _De-_... _Des_... _tiel Montage_? What...?" He opened the video on the screen, watching Gabriel's messy room fade into view (he'd clearly worked out how to edit his videos without too much effort), a sock puppet suddenly appearing in the centre of the frame.

"Wait...Is that my sock -?"

" _Hello, there!_ " Gabriel cried from somewhere, using his Sockstiel voice. " _I'm Sockstiel, and welcome to my show, Sockstiel and Friends! Today, I am joined by a very special guest!_ " Another puppet appeared above the desk. " _Mr Fizzles! And, of course, Gabriel and his new friend Garth are here too!_ " The two students poked their heads above the desk; Castiel didn't recognise Gabriel's "new friend Garth" from anywhere, but, then again, Gabriel could just pluck people out of thin air and claim that they knew him.

"So, Sockstiel, Mr Fizzles," Gabriel began in his usual tone of voice. "Why have you called us here today?"

" _Sockstiel and I have been doing our own truth seeking, Gabriel!_ " Mr Fizzles chirped in a sing-song voice.

"Really? How have you been doing that?"

" _Well..._ " Was it possible for a sock puppet to look mischievous? " _Sockstiel may or may not have borrowed one of my friend Garth's super special hidden cameras to capture Castiel and his true love Dean!_ "

"What?" Dean demanded, even though he would get no reply.

"Ah, yes, Dean." Gabriel smirked. "My future brother in law." If there had been anything in Dean's mouth, it would have been spat out at that point. Castiel let out a mortified groan. "I've already ordered a fabulous hat for the occasion. Do you think we could get to see some of this super secret footage, Sockstiel? _Oh, yes, of course, Gabriel!_ Well, then!" He winked into the camera. "You heard it here first, folks. It's montage time; cue the music!"

The cheesiest love song Castiel had ever heard began to play out as the footage appeared on the screen, odd clips of moments throughout the week - Dean bringing Castiel a cup of coffee ("You get one cup per day, Angel," he'd said, ruffling his roommate's dark hair affectionately); Castiel studying with Dean's arm tucked around his shoulders; Dean greeting Castiel with a kiss on the cheek or a peck on the lips; Dean with his head in Castiel's lap as they sat on the library floor where they thought no one could see them; the two of them holding hands as they walked to and from places (Gabriel was caught in the back of that shot, rolling his eyes and making a retching pantomime at how sickly sweet the sight was); so many different fragments that neither of them had thought were being caught on camera. It all looked incredibly chick-flick; even Castiel, who was pleased to say that he'd never sat through a chick-flick movie, could see that. Dean, on the other hand, had gone a startling shade of red now that his secretly romantic nature had been immortalised on the Internet (yet again).

" _Gabriel!_ " He roared suddenly, leaping up from his chair, almost sprinting out of the room. "Gabe, get your ass out here before I come in there and kick it myself!"

Castiel winced, glancing back to the camera. "So, viewers, thus concludes _Castiel and Friends_. I, er, did have some kind of speech prepared, but this doesn't seem like a good time for all that. I'd better go before Dean does something irrational, so...bye, I suppose. Thank you, and bye." He switched the camera off for the final time, before dashing out of the open door, hoping that his boyfriend hadn't already managed to impale his brother's head on a stick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.  
> I want to say a big, big, big thank you to all of you who read this, or bookmarked, or left kudos or comments on this story. Each one of you warmed my heart and put a huge smile on my face. You're the best, guys :)  
> And, hopefully, I'll see you all very soon for some more Destiel, because I have so many ideas for new stories and I can't wait to share them with you all.  
> Until next time, my little sock puppets :) X


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